Summer of Changes
by Phailen
Summary: Ichigo thought his summer was going to uneventful, boring, and dull...he couldn't have been more wrong. YoruIchi in later chapters. First chapter starts a bit slow.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: **I'll probably only update this once or twice weekly due to my extreme hatred of having someone watching me while I write. This is set after the Soul-Society arc and before the Bount one. I'm also pretty sure his age wouldn't match up, but that's why it's AU eh? I added Lilin and her group in once or twice for fun too btw.

**IMPORTANT: **I view the Vaizard as completely unneeded, so I had Yoruichi teach Ichigo a few more things when she helped him get his Bankai. First off, I believe that Ichigo absorbed part of the Hougyoku when he took Rukia's power (if the manga proves this, then sorry, but I don't read it, so I don't know yet). So I figure Urahara should have recognized his own invention in Ichigo, and have Yoruichi train him on how to use his hollow while they were in the training room replica. So Ichigo can use his hollow transformation for 11 seconds, like he now in the anime. I also decided to have Yoruichi help him improve his speed after he got back from the Soul Society, so if he seems fast, thats why. Those are the only changes I've made as of now, enjoy!

**Summary: **Ichigo's summer changed his life in many ways, almost all of them are good.

**Summer of Changes**

Chapter 1

Ichigo Kurosaki walked down the street, feeling extremely happy, as yet another year of high school had come to a close. He had absolutely nothing to worry about at that moment. Hollows had become scarce in Karakura Town throughout his now finished Junior year of high school, he was actually starting to worry about suffering from too much boredom. Little did he know, that thought would be considered insane by the end of the day.

* * *

The school bell rang, signaling the end of the school year. Ichigo looked up, shrugging the thoughts of a certain golden-eyed goddess of flash off, as he saw Chiruzu attack Inoue with one of her usual "hugs", Ichigo preferred to use the correct term of "groping" to describe them though. Sighing, he looked over towards the door, just in time to land a kick in the middle of a rapidly incoming Keigo's face. Stepping over him, Ichigo started towards the doorway as Mizuiru fell into step beside him.

"What're you planning on doing over the summer?" Mizuiru asked, dodging Keigo, having recovered from his earlier "condition", as he skipped down the hall yelling about freedom.

"Dunno, whatever comes up I guess, haven't got anything planned yet." Ichigo casually replied.

"Sounds like a summer" responded Mizuiru sarcastically, "though having an entire summer to be lazy does sound nice..."

Ichigo merely grunted in response as the pair reached the outside doors of the school and split up in the directions of their houses after a quick "See ya" to each other.

* * *

Upon entering his home, Ichigo dodged an airborne kick from his obviously sane father, sending him flying out the open doorway. Ichigo raised an eyebrow and quickly shut the door before his father could recover, locking the door on his way further into the house.

He passed by the kitchen, hugging Yuzu while waving to Karin for a second as he traveled upstairs. After entering his room and dropping his bag on the floor, he looked up to an extremely humorous sight.

Apparently Kon hadn't learned when to keep his mouth shut yet, and by the way Lilin was currently tearing him apart, it appeared that he was responsible for the marker mustache currently adoring the chicken-like doll's face. Ichigo cracked a slight grin at the two, before realizing his substitute shinigami badge was going crazy.

Opting not to use Kon on his body while he was away, due to certain "revengeful" feeling he might have, the cleaver wielding shinigami jumped out of the window and towards the hollow.

* * *

Upon arriving at the scene where the hollow was, Ichigo noticed a few things that weren't quite right. Turns out said hollow was actually two low leveled Arrancar, they were currently cornering what looked to be like a fourth division shinigami.

'Weird, why would any shinigami other than the one assigned to here be in Karakura, and from fourth division nonetheless' Ichigo thought as he made his presence known by a small burst of spirit energy.

The two Arrancar turned on him, one finding a Getsuga Tenshou heading right at him. He ducked below it as the other Arrancar, bird like in appearance (not spending much detail describing weak ones), shot toward Ichigo. Using it's wing-like arms to fly while a cero formed in its' mouth as he flew at Ichigo, said shinigami dodged the cero and cleaved off one of its' arms at the shoulder joint. This made him easy prey for another Getsuga Tenshou.

Turning back towards the other Arrancar, Ichigo knew from the way he was trembling that he was the weaker of the two. So he shunpo'd past him, cleanly slicing the foe in half midway through the shunpo, as he landed neatly on his feet in front of the somewhat awed fourth division shinigami.

After the medical shinigami recovered from his stupor, he first apologized profusely to Ichigo, and then seemingly remembered his mission, This came as a surprise to Ichigo as he pulled a letter out of his pouch and handed it to Ichigo, running off back to the soul society afterwards.

Ichigo looked down at the letter to find it signed by none other than Captain-Commander Yamamoto (AN:dunno the exact translation of his title off the top of my head) himself. He opened it on the spot and read it.

_Ichigo Kurosaki_

_Upon discussing the issue with the other ten captains, we've come to a decision on an extremely important issue. Before that though, let me explain something, there are three ways to become a Captain of Soul Society. First, you must pass a series of tests by at least 3 Captains; second, you must be recommended by 6 Captains and 3 of the remaining 7 must approve; third, you must beat a current Captain in front of at least 200 division members._

_Your name was recommended by Captains Unohana, Zaraki, Ukitake, Kyouraku, Hitsugaya, and Kuchiki. You were approved by myself and Captain Komamura. The remaining two captains with to see your strength first-hand before making their decisions on the matter, when you are through reading this, channel a small amount of spirit energy into your substitute badge. A Hell Butterfly with then appear to lead you to Soul Society, where you'll be given instructions from there._

_Captain-Commander Yamamoto_

_Also, Renji Abarai has also been chosen as a possible captain, but has yet to be voted on._

It took Ichigo about five minutes before he re-gained the ability to think. The Soul Society wanted him to be a captain, he even got as far as to only need one more approval before actually gaining the position. He couldn't count all he felt at that moment, but happiness and excitement overwhelmed most of his senses. He was so absorbed in his thoughts, that he didn't noticed a black cat with gold eyes land on his shoulder, and start to read the still open letter frozen in his hand.

He looked back down to the letter and skimmed over it, this time realizing that Renji was also a possible Captain. This made him a little more confident in his abilities, he knew he was still stronger than Renji, so his current strength must not be too bad for a Captain, right?

"Stop worrying so much, the Captains may be intimidating, but your just as strong as most of them" A sudden voice brought him out of his thoughts as he looked to his shoulder, finding Yoruichi in her cat form sitting comfortably.

He locked eyes with her for a moment, but neither found them able to break away. Yoruichi had caught herself thinking about the very eyes she was staring in to throughout the day, as had Ichigo. Both of them had shaken the thoughts off and gone on denying whatever feelings were connected to them though.

The sound of a dog's bark was able to break their gaze though, and after glancing at the letter in his hand, Ichigo remembered that he had to use his substitute badge to get the Hell Butterfly.

"Hey, Yoruichi, you up for a trip to Soul Society?" Ichigo asked, a slight grin on his face.

"Why not? This should be fun to see." the cat replied, with what might be a smirk.

"One thing first though..." Ichigo said, going slightly red.

Yoruichi sent him a questioning gaze as she eyed the slight redness on his face.

"Go get some clothes."

* * *

So, after much teasing from Yoruichi ("Aw...but I love your blush"), the two headed off to Soul Society. Both of them following the Hell Butterfly that came from Ichigo's substitute badge. After what seemed like hours due to his nervousness, Ichigo finally emerged on the hill where Rukia was to be executed a while ago, followed by Yoruichi.

Said goddess of flash noticed his eyes darting everywhere, and decided to calm him down a little.

"Ichigo, settle down, you'll do fine. You're plenty strong enough to hold your own against a Captain." Yoruichi soothed, as she placed a somewhat uncharacteristic hand on his shoulder.

Ichigo turned towards her, somewhat relieved by her seriousness, before saying thanking her.

After taking a deep breath, he looked out over Soul Society, and realized that he had no idea what to do. Yoruichi shook her head after seeing him turn towards her with his eyebrows raised, so, he sighed and sat down, beginning to release small bursts of spirit energy to announce his presence.

* * *

After a minute or two, Captain-Commander Yamamoto appeared, closely followed by every last one of the Captains. Yamamoto waited for a minute, the reason became apparent soon afterward as the Vice-Captains of each squad started to show up too. Once all 21 shinigami were there (Hinamori was still recovering from the Aizen incident), the Captain-Commander began to speak.

"Ichigo Kurosaki, you were called here for a possible position among the 13 Captains. As of now, you only need one more approval to gain that title. It will come from either Captain Soi Fon, or Captain Kurotshuchi. Both of them, along with most of the other Captains and Vice-Captains, have yet to witness your strength first hand, and are reluctant to give their approval before they see you fight."

Taking the pause as a sign that the Captain-Commander wanted a response, Ichigo nodded.

"You will be fighting a Captain to prove yourself, Soi Fon has volunteered to be the one to test you."

Yoruichi's eyes narrowed slightly at this, she knew how far Soi Fon would go to prove herself better than her old master's newest student. With the knowledge she taught Ichigo while he was obtaining his Bankai though, Soi Fon might be in over her head. The only ones here that knew of Ichigo's true strength, was really only Byakuya. Yamamoto's voice shook her out of her thoughts though, as she moved towards the sidelines with the rest of the Captains and Vice-Captains.

"Are you ready to begin, Ichigo Kurosaki?"

"Yeah, lets get this started" replied Ichigo, as he turned to face a smirking Soi Fon.

* * *

**A/N: **First chapter finished, be sure you read the notice thing at the top though, things will get confusing if you didn't. Next update in a day or two, seeing as how I just kinda left you with a cliffhanger there. 


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: **Be sure to keep in mind the changes I made, they'll come up quite a bit in this chapter. This chapter is also mostly devoted to fight scenes, if you bore easily of them...you've been warned.

Also, since "masked" Ichigo is much more powerful than an unreleased Espada, and a Bankai'd Captain fully released was barely able to beat a lower ranked released Arrancar, I figured that my version of a masked Ichigo is close to the power of two Captains. I only did this so I could show all of his power in front of his audience though, going all out on one Captain would be a bit of an ass-hole move eh? Anyways, on with the chapter

**Summer of Changes**

Chapter 2

Soi Fon walked forward, towards Ichigo, as she took her Zanpakutou out. She didn't even bother to remove her Captain's garb, as she thought that this boy had just gotten lucky to beat two of the current Captains. She wasted no time in starting the battle as she sped towards Ichigo and began to attack.

Ichigo waited for her to make it to him, having already gotten Zangetsu into a ready stance, waiting to block an attack. The first one came from the front, the clashing of metal sounded on the hill as Ichigo blocked Soi Fon's attack. She wasted no time in attacking again though.

From Ichigo's training with Yoruichi, however, she literally beat it into his mind that he had to analyze each opponent throughly before attacking. So that's what he did, watching and waiting for her strikes to come, blocking when they did. He quickly noticed a pattern in her attacks though, the first would be aimed at his front, the second at his back in an attempt to catch him off guard, and finally, a third from the top, which tried to take advantage of the opponent if they were confused by the first two strikes. A simple pattern, easily analyzed...he saw what he could take advantage of, the glint in his eye showed it.

* * *

Yoruichi smirked upon seeing her Ichigo's realization...wait, her Ichigo?...she shook off the thought and continued watching the fight.

Yoruichi, though, wasn't the only one who noticed Ichigo's discovery. Yamamoto, Byakuya, and Hitsugaya all saw it too. Having mixed thoughts, most of them being impressed a little at Ichigo's combat skill.

* * *

Ichigo soon made another discovery, she would alter the direction of the attacks slightly each time, to make it look like they were random, Ichigo wasn't fooled. Soi Fon wasn't taking him seriously, she'd pay for it too.

He blocked the first attack, starting to subtly gather spirit energy in Zangetsu for one powerful Getsuga Tenshou. The second attack came from behind, he blocked again...noticed she was starting to move faster...apparently getting impatient. Before the third attack came, Ichigo swung his cleaver-like blade up in a high arc, letting off the stored spirit energy in Zangetsu while yelling "Getsuga Tenshou!".

Soi Fon hadn't expected that attack, she thought he was just blocking her attacks with luck, not knowing where'd they'd come from next. So, when a massive blue arc of spirit energy came flying at her, she had to push herself to avoid getting hurt. She stopped mid-air and strained her spirit energy to get her out of the way as fast as possible, ending up with quite a deep wound in her side.

Ichigo looked towards where she had landed on the ground, down on one knee, panting slightly. He decided to use another tactic that Yoruichi so kindly "taught" him, his opponent's anger.

"Your attacks are much to easy to analyze, too easily predicted, so don't under-estimate me again, or you'll have a harder time standing up next time."

She glared harshly at him while getting to her feet. She yelled "Sting All Your Enemies to Death: Suzumebachi!", as her Zanpakutou transformed into the small, glove-like "stinger".

* * *

"Ichigo has proved himself to be slightly better than I thought originally" Yamamoto stated from the sidelines.

"He certainly knows how to fight, analyzing Soi Fon and getting her worked up, wonder who taught him..." said Hitsugaya, more to himself than anyone. Nonetheless though, Yoruichi smirked at the last part of his comment. Ichigo was surely proving much more than Soi Fon bargained for.

* * *

Ichigo had to admit, Soi Fon was stronger than her gave her credit for. Her speed had increased greatly, and her attacks no longer came in a simple pattern, she seemed to be trying now. Ichigo was finding it increasingly hard to keep up with her speed and attacks without using Bankai, he didn't want to reveal it yet, but it looked as though he had no choice.

So, when Soi Fon tried for a stab at his chest, where a butterfly symbol already resided, he grabbed her wrist and threw her away from him as he focused spirit energy into Zangetsu.

Soi Fon saw this, interpreting it for another Getsuga Tenshou, and said "That cute little energy wave caught me off guard the first time, but there's no way you'll even stand a chance against me without a Bankai. You might as well give it up" as she finished with a smirk.

Ichigo threw a smirk back at her, feeling his energy reach the right level for the next level. He yelled "Bankai!"

Soi Fon's eyes widened as she heard him say that word, she had thought he was a weakling, someone who just got lucky when he beat Zaraki and Kuchiki, how could he have a Bankai? There were less than twenty people in all of Soul Society who had achieved that level, yet this former-ryoka still managed to obtain it?

As the dust cleared though, her fears were confirmed, Ichigo stood in almost all black, holding the sealed Zanpakutou sized sword. This one though, she had a bad feeling about, it was completely black, it even gave off an aura-like feeling of power. She narrowed her eyes, waiting to see how much stronger he had become...

* * *

To say the reactions on the Captains' and Vice-Captains' faces when they felt Ichigo's power surge from the Bankai transformation were humorous would be a massive understatement. Most Vice-Captains had their mouths hanging open, muttering things like "amazing" or just plain "wow". Sure, they had felt powerful auras before, being around Captains all the time. This one though, this aura had something different about it, it seemed to fill everyone who felt it with power, it gave the Vice-Captains a feeling of security, to describe it best.

The Captains though, had more subdued reactions to their surprise, most of which included eyes slightly widening then narrowing again, however, one Captain Zaraki's reaction was very different. The madman's eyes were wide and a grin was spread across his face from ear to ear, while his lieutenant could be heard remarking on how "Ichi" and Ken-chan were going to have a lot of fun fighting later on.

Yoruichi, however, had a cross between a proud smile and a cat-like grin spread across her face. To see Ichigo do this well, it gave her a sense of accomplishment, she'd have to "congratulate" him later, she did love his blush...

* * *

Ichigo waited a few seconds before moving, knowing that Soi Fon was waiting to see what his increase in power had done to his abilities to fight. So, he went directly at her, slashing out horizontally around her stomach.

Soi Fon barely had time to dodge before Ichigo was behind her, she had a second to wonder how he had mastered shunpo so well before she had to jump forward at full speed to get away. Yet, as soon as she landed facing Ichigo, he was no longer about 30 feet away, he was now fight in front of her, using another horizontal slash that got her unwounded side.

She began to stall, knowing she'd need a bit of time to build up the spirit energy for Flashcry. "So you've got a Bankai, I can't say I'm impressed, but you won't even be able to keep track of me after this..."

Having finished gathering the energy, the clothing that was on her back and arms got ripped off. Her speed increased by enormous amounts.

She flew at him, full speed, Ichigo managed to block her attack before she appeared behind him. He used shunpo to come at her from the side before she reached him, she blocked his attack and came at him from above moments later, he propelled himself backwards, and landed about 20 feet away.

'Guess it's time to step it up a notch' He thought, before the two disappeared again, only to reappear moments later then disappear right as they became visible.

* * *

The Vice-Captains could barely keep up with the speed at which they were moving, all it looked like to them was flashes of black and the sounds of clashing metal as pieces of the ground crumbled when one of the two duelers landed on it.

The Captains kept up with the battle a bit easier, watching the two go at it. They could see that Ichigo was slowly gaining the upper hand, but they couldn't help but think he was holding back, judging by the smirk on his face. So when the two reappeared for a few seconds, Yamamoto yelled out.

"Captain Zaraki, join the battle on Captain Soi Fon's side!" Zaraki looked like Christmas had come early. Yoruichi couldn't help but feel a little worried about Ichigo though...

* * *

Ichigo moved into position so that he could see both of his opponents now, Zaraki wasted no time in tearing off his eye patch and blindly charging at Ichigo, which he dodged to the side, delivering a kick to Zaraki's midsection as he did. While Zaraki was forced back a few feet, Soi Fon came at Ichigo from the side, scoring a butterfly-like mark before Ichigo could dodge. He caught her hand before she withdrew and pulled her stomach into contact with his foot, sending her back around 10 feet. As soon as she was down though, Ichigo narrowly missed Zaraki's blade as it tried removing his head from his neck.

He could see they were ahead now, he had one thing left and 11 seconds to use it. So, he moved his hand across his face as his two opponents looked on, one with an eager look, the other with an analyzing look. He pulled his hand across his face, paying no attention to the gasps he heard from almost everyone but Zaraki and Yoruichi. In no time, Zaraki had three deep cuts on his chest and Soi Fon had two on her shoulders, the former's grin grew to an impossible size while the latter's eyes widened at the unseen attack.

Before either of them had a chance to realize what was going on though, they saw Ichigo flash into existence in front of them, yelling "Tensa Zangetsu". The two saw a massive wave of black spirit energy coming at them at an impossible speed. Soi Fon managed to come out of it with a deep gash running sideways across both her lower thighs, while Zaraki got a full blast of it to the chest. Needless to say, they were both down and out of the count. Soi Fon couldn't stand, and Zaraki could only laugh like a maniac while he yelled about how fun it was or how he wanted to go again.

* * *

Everyone but Yoruichi and Byakuya was stunned to see the hollow mask adorn itself on Ichigo's face, but they were more than amazed at the fact that he could down two captains in about 7 seconds. No one could track his movements, except Yoruichi, and all she saw was random flashes. So when the two Captains fell seconds later, the audience was a little to stunned to do much.

Yoruichi though, upon seeing Ichigo's victory, ran to him and gave him a hug...making sure to rub her chest against him as she saw his usual blush light up his face. Her smirk quickly turned into a look of confusion though, when he hugged her back, usually he would run from her advances...if you could call a hug that. The two locked eyes again, and only broke their gaze when they heard Yamamoto's voice.

"Ichigo Kurosaki, first off, I congratulate you on your victory. Secondly, of the two Captain's who have yet to vote, have you decided?"

Both Captains in question nodded, Soi Fon being tended to by Captain Unohana because Zaraki was still busy laughing like a mad man, and Kurotshuchi, who was looking at Ichigo with a somewhat puzzled expression.

Yamamoto then said "We will return to the officer's meeting in one hour to figure out our final decision, this gives Captains Soi Fon and Zaraki some time to recover.

**A/N: **Well, there's chapter two, I'm trying for about 2,000 words each chapter, so bare with me if some parts seem to drag on.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: **Not much to say here this time. Enjoy! Oh, and yeah, there's actual YoruIchi starting in this chapter.

**Summer of Changes**

Chapter 3

Ichigo leaned back with a sigh against a tree on the hill that he had just beat two Captains on, Yoruichi leaning back on the same tree next to him.

"You did great Ichigo, I've got no doubt in my mind that you won't make Captain after all this." Yoruichi said.

"Thanks, but it's really all thanks to you. You trained me in speed, taught me how to use my hollow, and helped with my Bankai. If it wasn't for you, I don't know what I'd do." Ichigo replied, a slight smile on his face.

Yoruichi blushed slightly at his praise, before wondering what was wrong with herself...she never blushed. If Ichigo was going to make her blush though, she'd just have to repay the favor.

"Well, that training didn't only benefit you, what'd you think I was doing every time you went to the hot springs" She said with grin.

Ichigo, true to her expectations, blushed. What surprised he though, is that he actually joined in on her flirting.

"You think I didn't do the same thing to you?" He leaned close, so he was talking in her ear and whispered "I'd say I was a pretty good actor, it took serious skills to make it seem like I didn't enjoy looking".

She flushed a darker red, but wasn't about to lose. She slipped one of her hands inside his shinigami clothes and rubbed his hardened muscles while she leaned in closer to his lips. All in an attempt to get him to back down of course, she didn't actually want to kiss him...she told herself. No, that was insane...obviously...right?

Ichigo saw her lean in, and was surprised to feel his body move towards hers as well, their lips inches apart now. He grabbed the hand that was inside his robes as he leaned in closer.

A sudden presence in the area caused Ichigo to jerk back though, still gripping her hand as he pulled her with him. Resulting in a somewhat dazed Yoruichi.

Renji appeared in front of them, and immediately turned around, his face turning a little red, while saying "Damn it, you coulda told me you two were busy!"

Ichigo looked down to find Yoruichi face down in his lap, apparently he had jerked back a little to hard while he had hold of her hand. Ichigo immediately flushed a dark red and turned to yell at Renji, only to find a note in his place. He looked down at the dazed goddess of flash currently face down in his lap, only now realizing that Renji left thinking they were...

"Ah, Shit!"

That seemed to break Yoruichi out of her daze...sitting up she said "Damn Ichigo, didn't know you moved so fast, you had me fooled with how you used to act". As she said that, an all too innocent smile spread across her lips, Ichigo decided not to answer, and grabbed the paper instead.

_Ichigo Kurosaki_

_Report to the 1__st__ Division's meeting hall as soon as possible. We have reached a decision._

_Captain-Commander Yamamoto_

Turning it over, Ichigo found a quickly written note from Renji,

_Find a better place for it, dumb ass._

Ichigo could nearly see the smirk on Renji's face as he read his note, but before he could do anything, Yoruichi asked "What's he mean, Find a better place for it...?"

Ichigo merely said "Think about where you were when you came to your senses"

Yoruichi made several faces in the next few seconds, one of confusion, then one in thought, then one of realization, then one with a grin the size of Zaraki's.

"You wish it were real, don't you Ichigo"

Ichigo took off towards the 1st division.

* * *

The ten Captains were lined up in two rows, numerically, directly across from each other, their Vice-Captains standing quietly on their right hand side. The third, fifth, and ninth spots were empty.

A knock came at the door, which opened, revealing a heavily blushing Ichigo and a nearly ecstatic Yoruichi. Renji could now be heard muttered something about trees and laps.

Nonetheless, Ichigo walked to the platform in front of Yamamoto while Yoruichi stood off to the side.

Yamamoto spoke "Ichigo Kurosaki, you needed one more approval to become a Captain from either Captain Soi Fon, or Captain Kurotshuchi. I will now ask them to step forward, and re-state their decisions."

Captain Kurotshuchi stepped forward, and stated "I approve of Ichigo Kurosaki for the position of a Captain in the 13 divisions."

Captain Soi Fon then stepped forward, looking like a kid forced into something they didn't want to do as she shortly said "I approve", then quickly stepped back in line.

Yamamoto then spoke up again, "Congratulations, you may choose which squad to wish to become Captain of, as well as your Vice-Captain."

Ichigo thought for a moment, before an smirk came onto his face. "I choose to become Captain of the Third Division, with Yoruichi Shihouin as my Vice-Captain, if she accepts of course."

Soi Fon cursed her luck as she realized what that meant.

Yoruichi was quite surprised to find him asking her to become his Vice-Captain, rather than Rukia Kuchiki, but at the same time, she was extremely pleased. Something made her want to stay in Soul Society with him.

So, with a smile, Yoruichi said "I'd love to your Vice-Captain, Ichigo".

Yamamoto then took control of the meeting once again. His voice booming across the room "Very well, take your place between the second and fourth divisions."

Ichigo stood next to Captain Unohana's Vice-Captain, Koutestu Isane, while Yoruichi took her place, a little too happily, in between Ichigo and Soi Fon. The latter had an extremely annoyed look on her face.

Before anyone could say anything else though, Yamamoto's dominant voice spoke once more, "Bring in the Third Division Captain's robes, along with the Third Division Vice-Captain's badge."

Said articles of clothing were brought in, and put on by Ichigo and Yoruichi, the latter just using the badge like a belt, since Flashcry would blow it off anyway.

Yamamoto spoke once more "Meeting Dismissed"

* * *

Ichigo and Yoruichi set off towards their division, after having received congratulations from many of the Captains. Things from "Congratulations Captain Kurosaki, Vice-Captain Shihouin" to "Now we can fight whenever we want!". Zaraki did seem a little happier than he should have been at Ichigo's promotion...

Nonetheless though, the two were currently walking towards their new squad grounds, the large third division building just in sight. This division happened to be one of the largest ones, whether by chance or not, nobody knew, so the main building was several stories tall. It had the usual square-like appearance as it towered over the division grounds, while two shorter, thinner portions sat on each side of it. After about 100 feet, the smaller portions turned 90 degrees to outline the division's training grounds and other out-door areas. (So in all, the buildings basically surround 3 of the 4 sides of the third division's land, which is behind the largest building)

After Ichigo and Yoruichi had made their way throughout the buildings, where they became familiar with their division and subordinates, they decided to head out into the grounds that were surrounded by the division buildings. Upon stepping outside on the rear side of the main building, they were greeted with an extensive amount of training tools and facilities, along with a small lake towards the back. Third division happened to consist of many of the shinigami that were sent on the special missions considered to be "below" the second division's shinigami. Together, the two squads made up most of the shinigami that were sent to the real world for various purposes, so both have rather large grounds.

By now though, Yoruichi was getting quite bored with all the formalities, so she started to go back to her quarters, only to realize...she didn't know where they were. Thus, with a look of annoyance across her face, she asked the nearest shinigami where they were, as Ichigo was standing behind her.

"The Captain and Vice-Captain's quarters are separate from the main building, due to the size of the third division, Captain-Commander Yamamoto decided to put them in a somewhat calmer spot. So you two will be living in a house just past the lake, near the forest edge. Unless of course, you want to live somewhere else."

Upon hearing this, Yoruichi's face immediately split into a grin...'Ichigo, a lake, and a forest', she thought. She was going to have some serious fun with this, so she took off in the direction of the house she and Ichigo would be sharing, leaving Ichigo with a slight smile on his face as he chased after her.

* * *

The Captain-Commander of Soul Society had a bit of a problem on his hands. For you see, it seems the hougyoku's development was progressing faster than expected, and if that weren't enough, he had reason to believe that Aizen would be able to get arrancar into the districts of the Rukongai soon.

As of now, he still had time, but that wouldn't last forever. He'd have to bring it up at the next Captain's meeting, something this big couldn't wait long.

* * *

Yoruichi stopped by the lake, nearing the small house at a walk. She soon heard Ichigo step into pace on her side, and decided they needed a little fun at that moment.

She turned to look at Ichigo, only to find his gaze aimed over the lake, at the setting sun. The scene created a picture nearly irresistible to Yoruichi, as she felt the usual unfamiliar feelings arise again. She'd been feeling them for a good while now, and had an idea of what it was...but adamantly denied it. Shaking herself from her thoughts, she realized that she'd yet to make the trip to the house more interesting.

"Ichigo" Yoruichi said, waiting for him to face her. Once he did so, having turned his back to the lake, she gave him a "light" push. The end result...Ichigo went flying about 20 feet over the take before ungracefully landing in the cold water. Yoruichi was on her knees in laughter as Ichigo's head rose from the surface of the water. It appeared the water was shorter than she thought though, because she could only see from his nose up. The glare he gave her though, as water bubbles appeared near his face from him breathing, coupled with the fact she could only see from his nose up, made an extremely hilarious, and somewhat cute scene in her mind.

Yoruichi could only laugh harder. That is, until she found her entire body being flooded with a freezing cold sensation...

She stood up in the water, realizing that only her eyes made it above the surface, nonetheless though, she glared at him. Ichigo thought the sight of only seeing Yoruichi's glaring eyes and the top of her head was worth a slight chuckle, thought it only came out as bubbles. Yoruichi seemed to have grasped what it meant though, as she jumped on top of him to dunk him under the water, only to find herself being pulled down with him, and so, the "fight" had started.

For the third division shinigami, seeing your superior's try to dunk each other in the lake was not a common sight. Thus, bets were made...

* * *

They finally entered the house as the darkness was taking over the sky, soaking wet and pretty cold. Neither really minded that much though, upon figuring out that the other's clothes stuck tightly to their body...

Realizing they needed to find where everything was though, they began searching, soon, they had found that the house had two bedrooms, a kitchen, a dining room, a living room, and obviously a bathroom. The two were still much too awake from excitement to go to sleep now though, so they went up on the root to watch the stars (are there stars in Soul Society...).

Yoruichi fell asleep about a half hour after coming up, and looking over at her, Ichigo couldn't help but notice that the moonlight made her look even more beautiful than she already was. Over the past day or two, Ichigo realized he probably had feelings more serious than friendship for Yoruichi, it was a slow process, admitting it to himself, but he did it.

So, he pulled Yoruichi into his arms to carry her into her room. Once she was in her bed, Ichigo leaned down over her and lightly kissed her forehead, whispering "Good night, Yoruichi", as he turned to go to his own room. He never did notice one of Yoruichi's eyes slightly open, or the small smile that spread across her face.

* * *

**A/N: **Well, there's another chapter...I'll tell you now, the next chapter or two will probably be mostly of Ichigo's friends and getting all the loose ends of his promotion tied up. I'll fit more YoruIchi stuff (mostly fluff, flirting, and humor) in there too, but for those of you who like action, you might be disappointed for a bit here.

Tried not to make this chapter too boring with descriptions, but eh, it had to be done sometime.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: **This chapter, and maybe the next one are all gonna be taking care of issues in the real world made by Ichigo's becoming a Captain. I also decided to have Yuzu and Karin already know about Soul Society to make things easier. Not much action in this one, probably the next too. Enjoy!

**Summer of Changes**

Chapter 4

Ichigo woke up the next morning, Saturday morning, to the sun attempting to blind him through his window. He made a mental note to close the window next time, and got up to take a shower.

After having done said act, he decided he'd wait for Yoruichi to be up to start the day. They would have a lot to do today, after all, he needed to do something about his human body and life, as well as something about his friends and family. So, knowing he'd need it later, he went up to the roof top after putting the bottom portion of his shinigami uniform on, to get a little more sleep.

* * *

Yoruichi had the same rude awakening as Ichigo did, though she fought to stay asleep...she didn't feel like waking up just yet. Nonetheless though, she was eventually forced up. The goddess of flash checked Ichigo's room, seeing he was already up, as she made her way to the shower.

Afterwards she dressed and walked out to the living room in search of Ichigo, said Captain wasn't there, so she figured he must have left without her. That is, until she saw a note on the table which simply said "roof".

Upon seeing him asleep, her mind came up with a way to have some fun. So, quietly, she stripped the top half of her shoulder less, sleeve less shinigami uniform (The one she wore in episode 57, err whatever one that was), and quickly made her way over to Ichigo.

* * *

Ichigo was being woken up by something, but he couldn't be bothered to open his eyes just yet...that is, until he felt skin come into contact with his chest. His eyes flew open, just to see the golden eyes and cat-like smirk that seemed stuck in his thoughts constantly.

He looked down, slowly registering that she was straddling his waist, and currently pressing her curves against him...Ichigo cursed the fact that he didn't wear the top half of his uniform...it was just making it ten times harder to control himself. He looked back into her eyes, just noticing how close they were, inches at the most.

Before he could stop himself, he pressed his lips to hers.

Yoruichi went wide eyed for a moment, before relaxing into the kiss, and wrapping her arms around his neck as he sat up to wrap his around her waist. She tilted her head slightly and opened her mouth a little, he wasted no time in pushing his tongue through her lips.

The next few minutes or so were filled with nearly in-audible moans, ending in two breathless shinigami. They had both felt something more than a regular kiss, and they both knew it.

Ichigo looked back into her eyes and pulled her closer to him, as he laid down on the roof. She moved her head to his shoulder as she relaxed on top of him.

"I don't really feel like moving much anymore, I wouldn't mind staying like this for the rest of the day, actually" Ichigo said quietly.

"My feelings exactly, who knew my attempt at having some fun would end so well..." Yoruichi replied, allowing herself a slight smile as she closed her eyes.

Ichigo looked down at her, he knew he had feelings for her, something more than friendship, but he couldn't figure out what. He wanted to make her happy, never see her sad. Maybe even spend the rest of his "life" with her. He felt, that if she were to die, he didn't know if he'd go on or give up on life altogether. The possibility that he was in love with her crossed his mind, he wasn't so quick to denying it this time though, it did seem like the best answer to his thoughts and feelings of her.

Sighing, he starting running his hands through her hair, before he closed his eyes as well, but not before looking at his Vice-Captain one last time.

Said Vice-Captain was never really asleep, as Ichigo had thought, she was merely going through the same thought process Ichigo was. Ending with her realizing she did have extremely strong feelings for Ichigo, and that it just might be love. She'd never felt this way about someone before, but she liked the feeling it gave her. How it seemed to give her limitless happiness when she was around him.

At that moment, the two made a promise. They'd go whenever the other would go, never leave their side, and protect them with their lives.

* * *

After having laid there with her for nearly fifteen minutes, Ichigo decided that they needed to start the day. You see, things were still transitioning from the new Captain in third division, so Yoruichi and Ichigo didn't have much paperwork yet. Of course, they'd get that constant annoyance once the fourth division was done sorting out the issues dealing with the change in Captains, but for now, they weren't complaining.

Pushing those thoughts aside, he looked down at the person he was sure that he was in love with, he gently sat up, bringing her with him, her head slumped on his shoulder as she slept on. He moved his hands to her back, bringing one up behind her head to support it, and thought of a more fun way for waking her up...her mouth was hanging slightly open after all.

Ichigo smirked, and pressed his lips to hers, exploring her mouth with his tongue until she woke to give him a response. She did, a few seconds later...after all, having something in your mouth that you can't breath out of might wake you pretty quickly. After realizing that it was Ichigo's tongue in her mouth, she responded to the kiss passionately. Her arms moving around the neck of the one she admitted to loving as well, while his were around her waist and in her hair.

They broke apart several minutes later, Yoruichi commenting on how she wanted to be woken like that even morning. Ichigo responding that he didn't want to experience her morning breath, which earned a slight "hmph" from Yoruichi.

Ichigo gave a slight laugh before saying "We really do need to head over to the Captain-Commander's place, I need to sort out some things with my living body and see my family and friends before I come back here."

Yoruichi sighed, and got off his lap saying "I guess so, would've much rather spent the day up here though...". She walked over to the top half of her uniform and put it on, then looked back to Ichigo, who had put the top half of his shinigami uniform on, along with his Captain's garb. Ichigo didn't wear the Captain's clothing like the other Captain's did though, he had his sash-like belt tied around it as well, so it was tight on his waist. This gave him a look somewhat like his Bankai, only it wasn't all black.

Yoruichi adorned her Vice-Captain's badge, putting it around her waist, as usual, and waited for Ichigo to walk over to her so they could set off.

* * *

The first division was relatively close to theirs, being that the third division had only the second in between them. So the newest Captain and Vice-Captain arrived outside Yamamoto's door only minutes after they had left. After knocking, entering, and sitting down with the Captain-Commander, Ichigo began to speak in his best attempt at being formal.

"Captain-Commander, I need to finish up a few things in the real world before I'm able to stay here permanently. I've come to ask permission to stay the remainder of the weekend there, and to ask for a custom mod soul. One that would act, talk, and think exactly like I would, so no one would miss my presence but the ones I tell."

Yamamoto took a moment to respond, before saying "Request granted, I had actually expected you to want more time in the real world, but am pleased nonetheless. The mod souls you asked for are made in the twelfth division, so you can pick up one before you leave. I will send ahead to notify them of your coming."

Ichigo responded with a smile on his face, but thought of one other thing before he left. "Sir, would it be alright if Yoruichi were to come with me for the weekend as well? We'll catch up on our work when we return, obviously."

The old man sat, apparently in thought, for a few seconds. He then responded "Request granted, just be sure to have caught up on everything when you get back."

Yoruichi's face lit up with a smile, while Ichigo settled for a small grin, before saying "Thank you Captain-Commander, We'll return Sunday night."

* * *

After having picked up his mod soul from the twelfth division...an experience he never wanted to remember again. Captain Kurotshuchi, he learned, had an obsession with finding out how he was a hollow and a shinigami...his way of finding out, however, involved Ichigo losing a few select organs. Only the "unimportant" ones though, as he put it... Ichigo still valued his heart and half of his right lung enough to know that the Captain of the twelfth division was insane.

The two eventually got to the real world though, safely this time, courtesy of Ichigo's hell butterfly, and had set off towards Ichigo's house. Before they could make it there though, they were meant by none other than Isshin Kurosaki. Said insane father was currently leading a search party, in other words...he was dragging Inoue, Chad, and Ishida around by ropes, yelling something about his lost son. Upon seeing Ichigo though, the old man took off with the three behind him struggling to keep up.

Ichigo sighed, and brought his foot up to meet Isshin's face, who promptly lost consciousness. So, the new Captain picked his father up, and hoisted him over his shoulder before turning to his three friends, questioning looks on all their faces. Ignoring the looks, he continued on.

"I know you've got lots of questions, and I'll answer em, just not here. Let's go back to my house." Ichigo said, before any of them had a chance to say anything. He then began to head towards his house again, at a run this time.

* * *

Upon entering his house, Ichigo found his two sisters lazily watching T.V. After seeing him though, the two shot up from their places and started asking questions. He quieted them, and asked if anyone else was home.

"No, but Rukia was here earlier looking for you, you might want to let her know your fine" Yuzu replied. She had seen Ichigo in his shinigami uniform before, but she couldn't help but wonder what the newest piece of clothing on him meant.

Ichigo nodded, realizing that she must be in his room at the moment. So, he did the first thing that came to mind, and yelled at the top of his lungs for a certain midget to get her ass downstairs, while the rest of the audience in the room quickly hid their smiles.

Once Rukia had appeared at the top of the stairs, nearly falling down them upon seeing Ichigo's Captain's clothing, and joined the rest of the group, Ichigo started.

"Before you all start with your questions, I'll explain as much as I can first. Yesterday I got a message from Captain-Commander Yamamoto asking me to come to Soul Society. Apparently they thought I was good Captain material, and after beating Captains Zaraki and Soi Fon, I became the new third division Captain, with Yoruichi as my Vice-Captain."

Many looks of understanding passed over the faces of the people in the room, most seemed to accept the new information well, others though, completely ignored it... but the now conscious Isshin Kurosaki is well known for being slightly insane, after all.

The former Captain yelled "ICHIGO! My son! I see you've found yourself a woman too! I was beginning to worry about you...but now, you can give me grandchildren!!" Isshin's face was promptly introduced to the wall. Ichigo did notice, however, that Yoruichi had been sitting beside him with her head resting on his shoulder...the presence there felt so natural, he must not have noticed it.

Before questions of him and Yoruichi could begin though, Ichigo continued. "I brought a mod soul down to act and think exactly like me, so people won't miss my presence. Since I'm a Captain now, there's no telling how long I'll be able to spend here and when, so I wanted to make sure nothing looked strange." He finished, before realizing that he had left his body on the side of a street somewhere...

"Uh, did anyone of you, by chance, happen to see my body lying around anywhere?"

Rukia spoke up this time, "I found it on some street and brought it back here without anyone noticing...you really should keep track of it better, idiot."

Ichigo sighed before continuing, "Well then, now that all that is outta the way...did anyone have any questions they wanted to ask or not?"

Yuzu spoke up this time "So you don't know when you'll be here and when you'll be at the Soul Society now?"

Ichigo sighed before replying, "I think I'll be able to get most weekends off to come here, but during the week I'll probably be staying in Soul Society." Yuzu looked down with a bit of disappointment, but the mood in the room was immediately lightened by Inoue's innocent question.

"Does this mean that you can tell Rukia what to do Ichigo?

Said female shinigami noticeably winced, while a grin appeared on Ichigo's face. "That's exactly what it means, Inoue. I like to think of myself as above abusing my power though."

Rukia scoffed, saying "Yeah right, as soon as I get you angry, you'll send me off to do some pointless task, strawberry."

Ichigo waited a moment, before saying "Yanno, your right, I kinda feel like something to drink right about now too..." Ichigo trailed off, now noticing that Rukia had disappeared.

The rest of the day was spent answering questions and talking, with random times where Isshin got thrown across a room, but before any of them knew it, it was time for dinner.

After they had all eaten, talking about random things while doing so (Ichigo and Yoruichi seemed to be a popular target for teasing, thanks to Isshin bringing it up once again), Ichigo announced that he was tired. He and Yoruichi had a long day, after all, thankfully they only had to do it once though.

He then went up stairs though, with Yoruichi following behind, the rest of his family and friends slowly returning home or retiring themselves.

* * *

The goddess of flash and the third Captain had a problem, Ichigo obviously only had one bed. Neither really wanted to sleep on the floor, so they stood in silence for a while, before the orange-haired shinigami broke it.

"We could just both sleep in it, yanno"

Yoruichi smiled slightly, and nodded. Having wanted to sleep in it with him, but didn't want to make him nervous by saying it. The two climbed into the somewhat cramped bed, Ichigo laid down on his back while his Vice-Captain placed her head on his shoulder and an arm over his chest, resting on her side. The two felt comfort at the closeness, and drifted off to sleep quite quickly just after murmured "Good nights" were heard.

* * *

**A/N: **There it is, the fourth chapter. I figure I'll write two more chapters of almost all YoruIchi stuff in it before getting back to the whole hougyoku/Aizen/arrancar thing. 


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: **Pure YoruIchi here, felt like it was time for an understanding between them. Be warned though, both are OOC and it's pretty sappy imo. Felt the feelings between them might justify it though.

Took a bit longer because I tried to make them as un-OOC as possible.

**Summer of Changes**

Chapter 5

Ichigo and Yoruichi both awoke to a new feeling of warmness, which just made them want to stay in bed longer. The sun had other plans though, so Yoruichi unwillingly removed herself from Ichigo's embrace, Ichigo getting up just after her. After having put the mod soul in Ichigo's body, they ate a quick breakfast and took fast showers before the other people in the house woke. The two didn't really feel like answering questions today, and Ichigo's mod soul could take care of it after all.

Having successfully avoided any family members, friends, or insane fathers, Ichigo and Yoruichi left the house at just past nine (it is a Sunday, after all). Being in spirit form, no one could see them as they jumped from roof top to roof top, heading to wherever Ichigo was leading them. Yoruichi soon found out though, as she saw the top of a ferris wheel appear over the horizon. Apparently a carnival was in town over the weekend, and it was just opening for its last day here.

So the two walked in unnoticed, taking in the sights the carnival had to offer. There were all sorts of different kinds of stalls, from all sorts of food stalls to many different kinds of prize-offering game stalls. They had many rides there as well, the center-piece being a giant ferris wheel that over-looked most of the city.

Ichigo looked over at Yoruichi, and couldn't help but chuckle at the look on her face, she had a huge grin plastered on her mouth while her eyes were wide from taking everything in, making her look like a child on Christmas morning. Then again, she had probably never seen a carnival before, so Ichigo decided he'd make sure this was a good experience for her.

* * *

They'd spent the majority of the time till they were hungry for lunch just exploring the massive carnival. That in itself was quite the task, Yoruichi was almost starting to get bored...until Ichigo went up to a currently unattended game stall, knocked over the stack of bottles in one throw, and took down a black stuffed cat to give to her. No one would notice a random stuffed toy go missing anyway, and it was worth the look on Yoruichi's face as her interest in the carnival was renewed.

So, Ichigo and Yoruichi, along with "Ichi", as Yoruichi had so lovingly named the stuffed animal, decided to go back to the Kurosaki house to try and sneak in a bit of lunch. Apparently, Isshin had decided to make it his personal mission to annoy the crap out of Ichigo while he was there for the rest of the day though, as they found out when they entered the home.

"ICHIGO!! There you are! I've been wondering where you went off to! Obviously you decided to get started on my grandchildren early! I NEED TO SPOIL THEM!!" Isshin screamed at the top of his lungs as he sprinted towards the two. Ichigo, amid a furious blush, threw him back across the room while Yoruichi looked on amusedly.

Karin and Yuzu soon made appearances themselves, wondering why their half-insane father was going on about grandchildren. One look from Ichigo confirmed that their father was truly insane in his yelling though, so Yuzu went back to preparing lunch and Karin returned to the T.V.

* * *

Ichigo and Yoruichi soon set off back towards the carnival, Ichi currently on Yoruichi's shoulder, as she had adamantly refused to go anywhere without him. Ichigo wasn't sure if this "un-Yoruichi" like action was to annoy him, or out of sheer appreciation for the toy, he ended up concluding that it was most likely a mix of both.

They had both gone out in their gigai though, to make things easier when they wanted to do something at the carnival. So, after re-entering the now somewhat busy carnival, it was just past three after all, the two decided to try as many rides as they could before it got dark.

So, after many rides, games, and shared food later, the two only had one ride they had yet to go on. The massive ferris wheel had long attracted Ichigo's attention, and though he'd never admit it, he wanted to go on it with Yoruichi quite a bit. The sun had just set after all, it was just starting to get dark, Ichigo figured it'd be the best time to tell her what he'd been wanting to all day.

* * *

Ichigo and Yoruichi climbed into the cab, the latter still had Ichi with her, which wasn't as annoying as Ichigo had thought earlier...it made him feel good, actually. Being able to do something that made her happy like that was more rewarding to him than he had previously thought. Ichigo was shaken out of his thoughts as the cab started its ascent, bringing into view the now glowing city.

The way the lights of the city lit up Yoruichi's eyes was near irresistible to him, the look of amazement on her face just made it all the better. Ichigo wanted to make his feelings known, he couldn't keep this subdued forever, after all. So, he whispered a soft "Yoruichi?" and waited for her to turn to him to begin.

"I'm not all that great at this kinda thing, but I know I'm sure about what I feel. Whenever I do something to make you happy, I feel happy as well. Your laugh alone can make me feel all that much better, and the more I think about it, the more sure I am about the way I feel." Ichigo's softened glance gained a little of it's usual uncaring look, but softened once again after his next sentence. "I won't go through all the mushy stuff like that again." The loving look in his eyes returned as he said "What I mean is, I love you, Yoruichi."

Yoruichi's eyes had glistened over while listening to him speak, and couldn't help but smile as she absorbed it all. She had figured he might have felt this way, but hearing it actually come from him made it much better. By the time he had finished, she was fighting back uncharacteristic tears in her eyes. She had never thought Ichigo would be the one she would end up with, but she also knew that she'd never change a thing about it.

So, she threw her arms around his neck and kissed him passionately, before pulling back and looking into his eyes as she said "I love you too, Ichigo".

They had reached the top of the ferris wheel now, but they were both too preoccupied with one another to notice. And, as Ichigo pulled Yoruichi onto his lap to hold her close to him, both of them couldn't help but to completely forget about their troubles and responsibilities.

* * *

The two got off the ferris wheel, Ichigo's arm wrapped around Yoruichi's waist, while her arms were busy holding Ichigo's arms against her and carrying around Ichi, to say that they were happy at the moment would be a serious understatement.

Both knew though, that it would be time to get back to the Soul Society soon, it was nearing eight at night after all. So, they began walking back to the Kurosaki house to rid themselves of their gigai.

On the way there, Yoruichi's curiosity over exactly what Ichigo thought of them got the better of her, she thought it was pretty obvious, but wanted to be sure. You never really know with Ichigo anyways. She had never experienced feelings like this for anyone, and never wanted it to end. So, she asked, "Ichigo, what exactly does this make us?"

Ichigo looked down at her with a little surprise evident on his face, before saying "Together". A simple word seemed to bring endless amounts of relief to her, as she sighed and closed her eyes, letting Ichigo lead her to his home.

Upon entering the house, they knew immediately that something was off. It was quiet. With Isshin around, it was never quiet. As they walked further into the house, Ichigo's arm now around Yoruichi's shoulders while hers was around his waist, they found said insane father. Upon seeing the two enter the room though, there was no yelling at all, just a nod and a small smile. It was almost like he knew something had happened, Ichigo didn't care much about anything right now though, he was nearly in a state of pure bliss, as was Yoruichi.

So the two continued to his room without another word.

* * *

Upon placing his mod soul back in his body, Ichigo and Yoruichi set off to Soul Society once again, hand in hand this time, as Yoruichi was carrying Ichi with her free hand.

Once they had entered Soul Society, they set off past the first and second division, to get to their quarters behind the third division lake. Both were lost in thoughts of how their lives could have changed so much in a few days. While they were concentrating on their thoughts though, they unknowingly passed a frozen Renji. He saw their joined hands and was immediately stopped walking in his surprise. As they grew smaller, and eventually out of sight, he noticed something was different. Walking away, he muttered, "What the hell was that stupid cat?"

* * *

The two checked into the third division's "secretary", so that the Captain-Commander knew they had come back on time, before continuing on out towards their home along the lakeside. Neither of them spoke a word, both in a comfortable silence, as they enjoyed each other's company while walking.

After having entered their home, both of them felt ready to relax after a relatively long weekend. So, with Ichigo leading, the two walked up to what they now silently agreed upon as their room. Not just Ichigo's, not just Yoruichi's, their's.

* * *

**A/N:** Well, there you have it. I would have liked the confession to be a little better, but ah well.

Also, do you guys want the next chapter devoted to a lemon, or just continue on with the story. It won't effect the plot at all, so the story won't be changed.


	6. A Night Off

**A/N: **Pure Lemon, skip it if you don't want to read it, it won't effect the story line.

**Summer of Changes**

Ichigo sighed, he was finally back from the living world. He enjoyed seeing his relatives and friends again, but it felt nice to be able to relax back in Soul Society, with nearly no cares in the world. What made it better, almost to a state of pure bliss, was that Yoruichi had said she loved him, returning his feelings.

He looked up at said goddess of flash in front of him. They were currently climbing the stairs to their room, and Ichigo couldn't help but notice how her hips swayed as she walked up. She turned her head, feeling his eyes on her, only to catch him staring, and decided to have a little fun.

"You know, you can do more than stare. It'd be much more enjoyable for both of us, after all" she whispered seductively, a corner of her mouth twitched upwards. To her surprise though, instead of blushing and looking away, Ichigo merely replied with a grin and an "alright".

Yoruichi had no sooner raised an eyebrow when she found herself being backed up against their bedroom door. Ichigo's lips molding into hers, awakening feelings that hadn't been felt for an extremely long time, or never felt at all. She had never been truly in love with someone like she was with Ichigo, she could tell this would an experience to remember...

She was startled out of her thoughts though, by the cleaver wielding captain opening the door, and guiding her through it. His lips seemed to be stuck to hers, though she wasn't complaining. His tongue ran across her bottom lip before it slipped in her mouth, causing jolts of electricity to run through her, she moaned at the feeling while tilting her head to deepen the kiss.

Yoruichi didn't know when he had managed to back her into the bed, but as soon as her knees hit it, she fell over, bringing Ichigo with her. He quickly untied the top half of her black shinigami uniform, and began working on the white cloth underneath it shortly after. Soon, the offending piece of cloth was gone, and his goddess was left exposed from the waist up.

After taking a moment to look at her, and a whispered "Your beautiful", Ichigo lowered his head to kiss the sensitive flesh. Yoruichi had begun running her fingers through his orange hair while he removed her of her clothes, and after hearing his whispered words, she couldn't help but smile. A feeling of pleasure though, a feeling that had been dormant for far too long, brought her attention fully back to Ichigo. She couldn't help but suck in a sharp breath and slightly arch her back, softly moaning as his lips seemingly left searing marks on her skin.

Ichigo had slowly been making his way to the center of the current mound his attention was focused on, his hand somewhat mindlessly caressing the other. Upon reaching the hardened center, he took it in his mouth, sucking and biting on it with a feather light touch, then blowing on it after having taken his mouth off. Yoruichi's soft moans had escalated into full sounds of pleasure, thoughts of how he knew all of the things he knew running through her mind, but as Ichigo repeated the process, she completely forgot that thought. He paused, his goddess's moans making the bulge in his pants near unbearable. Yoruichi took this as her opportunity to return some of his administrations though, and Ichigo soon found himself on his back, Yoruichi straddling his waist.

The purple haired shinigami removed his captain's clothes, along with the top half of his shinigami uniform, before pressed her lips down on his, her hands back in his hair. She soon broke the passionate touch to trail her own set of searing kisses down his neck, and onto the hardened muscles of his chest. She couldn't help but grin at the small groans Ichigo was making, wondering whether they were from pleasure, or the tension of his member currently pressed against her inner thigh.

Ichigo didn't lay still for long though, he sat up, bringing her into a passionate kiss as she wrapped her legs around his waist. They both knew they wanted each other more than anything at that moment, but they both wanted to take it slowly for their first time too. Neither of them having ever experienced such feelings behind the act. So, Ichigo laid her back down on the bed, and positioned himself between her legs as he slowly slipped off the bottom of her shinigami uniform, making sure to "accidentally" brush the insides of her thighs with his finger tips as he did so.

Yoruichi suddenly felt nervous, she didn't know why either, she never had before. Nonetheless, Ichigo noticed her look, and gave her a smile after repeating "Your beautiful". She didn't know why that calmed her down, but she didn't have much time to think about it either, as Ichigo had just introduced his lips to her inner thigh. Trailing more white hot kisses up towards her moist center, while his hands held her hips in place.

He reached the point she'd been anticipating, pressing his lips down on hers, while a moan left her mouth. He wasted no time in pushing his tongue into her soon after, she threw her head back and arched her back as much as she could out of pleasure at the feeling. Ichigo's hands were still on her hips as his tongue did numbers on her body, if not for his hands she'd have slid her legs around his head to try and push him further in, but no such luck, it seemed he knew just how to get to her. He knew every single point on her body that could make her go crazy, and he proved himself again as she felt a moan escape her, a tightening feeling building up in her.

Much to her displeasure, though, Ichigo removed his tongue from her just before that point. She showed him those feelings of annoyance with a stare of golden eyes, pupils seemingly mixed in with the iris. He fixed her with a stare of near identical brown eyes, telling her what he wanted her to know. That they'd come together for their first time.

So, Yoruichi pushed him onto his back, stripped him of his remaining clothes, and wasted no time before laying her lips on his hardened member. The purple haired shinigami ran her tongue up the length of it, relishing in a soft moan that escaped him, before taking him in her mouth. She pleasured him, enjoying the fact that she was able to make him moan as much as he was able to make her moan, even if they were softer, but she didn't care. Yoruichi felt him tremble a little, and took her mouth off of him. She looked up towards his face, nearly bursting with desire. A look of nearly pure lust then spread across his face, she knew hers showed the same, so she laid down on her back as he positioned himself between her legs again, he then picked her up and held her close to his chest as he pushed into her.

Neither could hold back their moans at the feeling of completeness they experienced. It was a new feeling to both of them, and they both decided it was the best sensation they'd ever felt. So, Ichigo began slowly, relishing at how it felt to be inside her. Yoruichi had locked her ankles behind his waist, as she pressed herself closer to Ichigo while she moved up and down against him. Ichigo's pace then quickened as his lips meant hers in a passionate embrace, their moans now muffled by their mouths, while Ichigo's hands remained on her hips. The orange haired shinigami slowed down after awhile, drawing out the movements, slowly moving in and out as they both felt tightening sensations.

At this point, Yoruichi doubted her legs could be wrapped more tightly around his waist, thoughts of how he knew all this once again crossed her mind, but were quickly dismissed with what happened next. Ichigo raised his purple haired lieutenant once more, and brought himself up to meet her, hitting a spot deep within her that caused both of them to moan out in pure pleasure against each others' lips as they felt themselves release as one.

Ichigo fell backward onto the bed, Yoruichi on top of him. She lifted her head up from its position on his chest, and kissed his lips lightly, murmuring "I love you, Ichigo".

He smiled, and replied with a whispered "I love you too, Yoruichi", while his fingers ran through her hair. Her steady breathing told him that she'd fallen asleep minutes later. So, after moving her to his side, which she curled into immediately, he fell asleep as well.

**A/N: **There yah have it, didn't like it at some points, but I did my best. Guess now would be a good time to mention it was my first one too. Decided to leave that fact out till the end, dunno why, but it annoys me when people put it before you even start reading...ah well. Managed to devote an entire 1500 words to lemon, never thought it'd be so long. Back to the original story line after this chapter btw.


	7. Chapter 6

**A/N: **Finals are on Thursday/Friday for me, so chapters have been scarce over the past week or so, and I doubt I'll be able to post again until after Friday. After this week though, updates should be back to 2-3 days.

* * *

**Summer of Changes**

Chapter 6

Ichigo opened his eyes and immediately smiled upon remembering the night before. He looked down at the woman he loved in his arms, taking in every detail of her. From the soft purple hair, to her perfect skin, he couldn't stop thinking about her. He didn't really want to either. He knew that the two of them had paperwork to catch up on though, so, sighing, he started to gently rub her back. She stirred after a while, stretching out across Ichigo as she woke up.

Yoruichi looked up at him with sleepy golden eyes, and he couldn't help but chuckle at the expression on her face as she blinked, trying to get the sleep out of her eyes. He hugged her tightly, causing a smile to appear on her face as she laid her head back down on his chest.

"I don' wanna get up yet" he heard her muffled voice against his chest. He laughed slightly, before poking her side until she swatted his hand away amidst laughing lightly. She then promptly laid her head back down, with all intentions of sleeping. Ichigo sat up, smirking as she moaned in annoyance, before giving her a quick kiss and sliding out from under her to get dressed.

"Paperwork" he said simply, as she let out another aggravated moan.

She sighed, before saying "Fine, but I'm not getting dressed."

Ichigo smirked, "You know neither of us mind, but, we've got all day after we finish the paper work..." he trailed off.

She gave him a half smile, before forcing herself out of bed and on to getting ready for what was going to be a boring morning.

* * *

The Captain of the third squad had no idea how just one division could cause so much paperwork. Sure, he knew it was the largest, but three stacks around two feet tall each is pushing it. Yoruichi seemed to feel the same way, judging by the look on her face. The two started on it, nonetheless.

It was only this big because of the transition, after all, it'd be much less once things settled down. That's what Ichigo liked to tell himself, anyway.

* * *

Yoruichi looked up, it was mid-afternoon and they had gotten two of the three stacks done. She then moved her glance to Ichigo, determined to get him to take a "break" with her. Said Vice-Captain's thoughts were interrupted by a black butterfly flying through the window.

The Captain-Commander's voice boomed throughout the room "All Captains and Vice-Captains are to report to the first division's meeting room immediately", before it died out, and the butterfly disappeared.

By looking at each other's faces, they knew that they both wanted a break from the hell called paper work. So, the two of them fought to get out of the door first, before heading to the first division at a reckless run.

* * *

The only one that beat Ichigo and Yoruichi there was Captain Soi Fon, go figure. Nonetheless, they took their places as they waited for the other shinigami to arrive. Once all of them had been assembled, Yamamoto began

"You all know of the Hougyoku and what it's capable of, we had thought that it would take some time for it to be usable, however, we believe that Aizen can use it to its full power now."

This statement was meant with numerous gasps and a few narrowed eyes, as Yamamoto continued

"However, that is not all. It seems that Aizen has figured out how to get arrancar into Soul Society."

Silence fell over those present, thought Zaraki could be heard muttering something about fun, before Captain Ukitake spoke up,

"How is this possible, the Soul Society is supposed to be perfect in those kinds of defenses. Aizen could wipe out every district in the Rukongai if he's able to do that!"

The Captain-Commander's face took on a grave expression "I do not know how he can do it, I just know that it is possible for him now. Captain Kurotshuchi, I want your division monitoring the ingoing and outgoing traffic at all times. The earlier we figure out how he's doing it, they earlier it can be stopped. I also need to know if an arrancar is here mere seconds after it appears. Understood?"

Upon said Captain's nod, Yamamoto continued, "Captain Soi Fon, your special forces will be assigned to a district, two to each, living as regular souls as to not draw attention to themselves. Understood?"

She nodded too, while the Captain-Commander looked back out over the assembled shinigami. "This could very well bring war upon us, however, Aizen will most likely take it slowly. He was never one to rush things, but that just means it will hurt more later on. Everyone must be on their guard, I also don't want the divisions informed of this yet, only when it becomes necessary. You are dismissed."

The shinigami slowly filtered out of the building, most reflecting over what they had just learned. The reactions between each Captain and Vice-Captain differed for each division. From looks of annoyance or determination, to expressions of eagerness. Then again, Zaraki never was completely sane.

* * *

Ichigo walked with Yoruichi, towards their home, deep in thought. True, he had never faced a strong arrancar before, but he had a feeling he'd need to be much more powerful to overcome this new obstacle. His life had progressed in leaps and bounds in an extremely short time, he hadn't felt this happy in his entire life. He looked sideways to Yoruichi, and resolved that he'd never give up anything in his life without a fight.

With that thought in mind, he spoke, "Yoruichi?"

He then waited until she turned her golden eyes towards him to continue.

"This whole arrancar thing, it feels like it's going to get real ugly, real fast. I don't think either of us is strong enough to stand up to some of the tougher ones either." He paused for a second, before continuing with a smirk, " You up for training till we drop, so we're strong enough when the time comes to fight?"

Yoruichi smiled and nodded, before moving her head to rest against his shoulder. Ichigo's arm slid around her waist as the two of them continued home, back to their burden known only, as paperwork.

* * *

Soi Fon sat at her desk, later that night, cursing herself for putting off the paperwork she had to do for tomorrow. She had incredible amounts of paperwork coming in from each and every one of the Rukongai districts, two of her shinigami in each.

The Captain looked up, seeing the newest addition to her office. A board with each number of the Rukongai districts on it, a small light under each of the letters representing them. The lights would light up if the shinigami in each district saw an arrancar, a way of warning her if something happened. At the moment, she was willing one to spark to life, anything but paperwork. Obviously though, that wasn't going to happen, she turned back to her paperwork.

While reading over yet another report, her tired eyes noticed a red hue appear on the paper. She shrugged it off as a trick her eyes played on her, that is, until it got brighter. Sighing, she looked up, and immediately went wide eyed. Ten of the lights were were glowing red, it took her a moment to comprehend what was going on, before she shot off towards first division.

* * *

Ichigo sighed, finally getting to bed. He and Yoruichi had finished their work mere minutes ago, they had gotten through the "transition" paperwork, as Ichigo liked to call it, but it had taken them nearly all day. So, the two of them unceremoniously dove into their bed, and prepared for a night of well deserved sleep.

Yamamoto's voice put a dent in their plans though, blasting out through a hell butterfly. "All Captains and Vice-Captains are to report to the first division's meeting room immediately!"

Ichigo's eyes shot open, he and Yoruichi jumped out of bed, alert as they could be at the moment, before sprinting off towards first division. As they headed towards the first division, though, Ichigo took time to think about what it might be. Yamamoto's voice sounded urgent, even angry, in the message. It must be something big, and he didn't like the feeling he was getting.

He concluded that it must have something to do with the arrancar "problem", to put it lightly. He had seen how powerful Aizen was back at Rukia's execution, and shuddered at the thought of what he could do with the arrancar.

His thoughts were cut off though, as the two arrived at first division. After their arriving, the rest of the Captains, along with their Vice-Captains, had assembled, and Yamamoto began speaking

"It appears that ten districts of the Rukongai have come under attack by arrancar, Captain Soi Fon has sent shinigami of her division to hold them off until we can back them up. That being said, I want each Captain/Vice-Captain pair to take a district of the Rukongai, and attempt to capture the arrancar alive for questioning. Am I understood?"

Upon seeing the nods of nineteen heads in the room, he proceeded to assign districts to the pairs as quickly as he could. Telling the Vice Captains that didn't have a Captain to proceed with caution, and merely try to prevent further death, until a Captain/Vice-Captain pair was freed up to help out.

* * *

**A/N: **Again, sorry this is so late. I've been having trouble finding time to write with my finals coming up though. I doubt I'll be able to even start writing again until after Friday, so it'll be awhile for the next one to be up. 


	8. Chapter 7

**A/N: **Couple things, didn't know how to translate Aizen-sama into an English phrase, so I just used it as it is.

I also didn't really feel like coming up with names for all the lower ranked arrancar, so I'm just having them go by number.

Also, Yoruichi doesn't have a Zanpakutou yet, so I just had her take a regular standard issue sword, I think I'll give her one eventually though.

Finally, sorry for the massive delay...couldn't find time to write at all.

* * *

**Summer of Changes**

Chapter 7

Ichigo and Yoruichi sprinted off towards the 38th district of the Rukongai. The enemies' attacks were obviously planned, as each of the districts under attack had a significant amount of distance between them and the next. With that in mind, they could only hope that the attackers were weak enough for the two of them to handle.

A few minutes later, their assigned district came into view over the top of a hill, to say that it looked like a tornado had hit it, would have been a massive understatement. At least half the buildings were either on fire or just gone completely, there was debris everywhere, as well as random bodies of spirits that had lived in the district.

Once the momentary shock had passed, Ichigo and Yoruichi realized that there was no sign of the second division guards. Taking into consideration the state of the district, they decided it might be better to stick together. Neither of them knew the strength of the guards, and therefore, the attackers' strength was left a mystery as well, they couldn't take any chances.

They proceeded slowly through the town, checking around corners and keeping quiet as they did so. It wasn't long before they found the guards that were assigned to the district though, both were dead. One of them had various needle like objects sticking out of him from random angles. The other, seemed to have been cleaved in half in a surprisingly clean cut.

Grimacing slightly, they forced the thoughts of what had happened to them to the backs of their minds, and continued their search of the town. The destruction seemed to get lighter as they went, the two silently agreed that it most likely meant that the attackers had passed here recently, so they decided to take more caution in proceeding.

The two finally heard something by the time they had neared the end of the district, unfortunately, it was a scream. Ichigo and Yoruichi ran towards the noise, and turned the corner in time to see an arrancar kill yet another one of the district's citizens.

The arrancar turned towards the shinigami after having dealt with the spirit, and grinned slightly, before saying "I was wonderin' how long it'd take ya to get here. Aizen-sama said stronger shinigami'd show up if I killed a bit of souls over here."

Upon finishing, the hollow laughed slightly, and paused for a moment, which gave the shinigami time to take in his appearance. All in all, he looked completely normal, but for the hole in his chest and the piece of his hollow mask around his eyes. Nothing stood out about his appearance, except his hands. His hands, if they could be called hands, weren't really even there, it was like they had been cut off at the wrists. Where his hands would have been, thousands of holes were.

Ichigo's eyes widened, that must have been where the needle looking objects came from, he must be able to shoot them out of his wrists somehow...looking at Yoruichi, he noticed that she had realized the same thing. He turned back to the arrancar and said, "Ichigo Kurosaki, Third Division Captain, I'll be your opponent." Yoruichi looked a bit annoying after his statement, but sighed and decided to watch the fight from a nearby roof top, she was quite tired after all...

The arrancar waited a second, before replying "My name's simply, Number 24. It'll be a pleasure killin' ya Cap'n" ending with a grin.

Ichigo had no time to reply though, as the hollow shot off a multitude of the needles out of his arms. Ichigo dodged them easily, as they flew past him and into a random wall, before charging the arrancar while pulling out Zangetsu. The arrancar merely grinned, and brought one of his arms back as if to punch Ichigo, what he was planning was quickly revealed though, as Ichigo heard a crash behind him.

He turned to see part of a wall heading directly at him, the one with the needles in it. Ichigo strained himself to pull out of his charge and completely change direction before the wall got to him, the Third Division Captain managed to get out of the way before the wall hit him, and returned to his charge once again.

#24 scowled, and sent another barrage of needles at Ichigo, most of which being deflected with Zangetsu, while the other landed harmlessly behind him. By now, Ichigo had gotten to him, so the arrancar jumped away to put distance between them before sending more needles after him. This pattern continued for a few minutes, before Ichigo started getting frustrated.

He landed near where he had started his initial charge, and let off a Getsuga Tenshou towards the arrancar, who was in the middle of landing from a jump. Said arrancar's eyes widened as he saw the massive arc of energy head towards him, and strained his body to move after just landing, it did, but only too late. The arrancar's left arm was sliced off in the surprisingly fast attack.

#24 scowled before turning back to Ichigo, he said "That's annoying...guess I'd better step it up eh?" as his face produced a grin.

With a flick of his remaining arm, all the needles used in past attacks around Ichigo sprang to life. Floating in mid air, they all turned to point at Ichigo, in the middle of the swarm.

Said Captain's eyes narrowed, he had a bit of trouble dodging them before, and that was only a fraction of the amount he now faced. He turned back towards the arrancar, who was holding his remaining arm up to seemingly control the needles.

"_Must be some spirit energy in each of the needles, but that'd also mean that he'd most likely have to keep his arm like that to control them..."_ Ichigo thought, before coming up with a quick plan, and yelling "Bankai".

* * *

Yoruichi had been lazily watching the battle, still mildly annoyed with Ichigo for taking all the fun. She found herself wondering why Ichigo was playing around with the hollow in the first place, he could finish him in seconds if he wanted. Number 24, as he called himself, obviously wasn't very strong, if you got him in close combat he was helpless.

Yoruichi sighed, opening her eyes slightly as she heard Ichigo use his Bankai. She was bored, annoyed that this was what woke her in the middle of the night too.

* * *

As Ichigo felt his power from Bankai enter him, the arrancar sent all of the needles at him.

#24 smirked, thinking that there was no way Ichigo could avoid all the needles...all he needed was one to hit him, after all. So, it came as a massive surprise when Ichigo suddenly appeared in front of the arrancar, muttering something like "Tensa Zangetsu". Before the arrancar knew it, he was cut cleanly in half, and the fight was over.

Ichigo landed, and returned to his usual state, while Yoruichi landed next to him with a sigh. "About time, you took forever. To think we could be asleep by now" Yoruichi said, with a bit of irritation in her voice, she didn't get to kill any arrancar, after all. Ichigo laughed slightly, but before he could respond, a new voice rang out in the devastated district.

"#24 always was an idiot, had he gone to his released form right away, he wouldn't have died." Ichigo and Yoruichi swung around, seeing yet another arrancar on top of a roof near them.

This arrancar was similar to the first one, including the hole in his chest and random pieces of a mask around his face. His hands seemed to have blades for fingers though, all of them reaching at least two feet in length.

"Well, at least we know what happened to the other guard here now" Ichigo muttered under his breath. Before he could do anything else though, Yoruichi shot out towards the hollow, saying something about her turn as she took off.

Yoruichi pulled out a standard sword on her way towards the arrancar, and aimed for it to pierce him through the chest. He caught it in his fingers though, stopping all motion as well. Yoruichi's eyes widened before he threw the sword away from him, taking her with it.

"Eager to die are we? Good, I don't like delaying anything, after all. I'm #13, and I'll be your killer today" The arrancar said with a smirk.

"Yoruichi Shihouin", the Vice-Captain replied before charging the arrancar again. Before she got there though, she heard the arrancar mutter "release", his smirk growing more as he did.

Yoruichi's eyes widened, before one of his fingers shot out, growing longer at insane speeds. The Vice-Captain was hard pressed to get out of the way, and even then, the blade clipped her shoulder as she dodged.

* * *

Ichigo had smirked upon seeing Yoruichi so eager to fight, thinking it was pretty funny. He began to worry though, as the arrancar effortlessly tossed her aside, and even more worried as the arrancar went into his released state.

Ichigo knew Yoruichi would hate it if he interfered though, so he forced himself to sit still while watching his Vice-Captain fight.

* * *

After having dodged the "finger", Yoruichi took a good look at her opponent in his released state. His fingers seemed the same, still being swords, however, he had new armor covering his entire body. The weird thing about it though, was that it was made of nearly all swords. Yoruichi could tell that the armor was designed to block attacks, as well as inflict damage on his opponents by merely swinging a limb at them, she'd have to be careful. The Vice-Captain subtly started building up spirit energy.

"I'll tell you now, I hate prolonging things. So, you ready to die?" After having said that, #13 smirked at her, and disappeared. He wasn't gone for long though, as he reappeared at her side, forcing her to narrowly dodge a strike that would have taken off her head. She retaliated with kick to his side, surprised when he didn't move. She soon found out why he had stood still though, only now remembering his armor of swords. Cursing her stupidity, she quickly jumped away.

The second she landed though, she found a blade at her throat. Her eyes widened as she released the built up spirit energy to use Flashcry. The next time either the arrancar or her Captain saw her, he was on the roof top opposite #13. Yoruichi sighed, with the arrancar's armor, she'd hurt herself more than she would him. With that in mind, she looked towards Ichigo, hoping he'd get the meaning of it. He seemed to get what she was saying, as he stood and shunpo'd over to her.

"I'll be your opponent now" the Captain said simply, as Yoruichi limped over to sit down on another roof top.

Ichigo continued, "Since you said you don't like to delay the inevitable, I think I'll make it easy on you, and kill you now." Having said that, he used his Bankai.

Seeing him in his Bankai state, #13 prepared to attack...until Ichigo reached up to his face, that is. The arrancar cocked an eyebrow at his behavior, wondering what the Captain might be doing. He soon found out though, as an aura of spirit energy hit him. #13 was nearly brought to his knees at the feeling.

He was able to stay on his feet though, and looked up just in time to see Ichigo disappear and reappear in front of him at an ungodly speed. The arrancar's eyes widened as he felt the armor on his chest take a massive blow.

Somewhat reluctantly, #13 looked down. A large gash was made across his chest, straight through the armor. He looked back up at Ichigo, and panicked slightly. This wasn't Captain level, Aizen-sama said Captain level was equivalent to his released form...this though, this was above and beyond that. He had to think of something, and fast.

The arrancar narrowed his eyes as he saw Yoruichi call to Ichigo though, obviously asking him something. #13 smirked as Ichigo's head turned away from him...he'd make sure that damn Captain would pay for this...

* * *

Ichigo looked towards Yoruichi as she called out to him, giving her a questioning look. Before she had a chance to ask her question though, #13 appeared behind her, and immediately held a blade to her throat before addressing an increasingly angry Ichigo.

"You're gonna let me go kid, if you don't, I'll make sure your pretty little helper loses her head" the arrancar finished with a confident smirk.

Had the arrancar been paying attention to Ichigo though, he would have realized that threatening Yoruichi in front of the Captain, was the worst possible thing he could do. Ichigo's eyes were narrowing to a near impossible level, as an odd green like mist was forming around his feet. By now, the ground had started to tremor slightly and the spiritual pressure on #13 was off the charts.

Said arrancar had a moment to wonder what it all meant, before Ichigo blurred out of existence. Before the arrancar had a chance to blink, his head had been sliced from his body.

Ichigo let out a breath he didn't realize he had been holding, before reverted back to his mask-less shikai form and gathering Yoruichi in his arms. Having her life threatened hadn't done much to the Third Division Vice-Captain, due to her background, but she could only wonder what Ichigo thought of it. Had someone done something like that to Ichigo, she'd have reacted the same way he did with her.

The two separated, but not before they shared a brief kiss, and surveyed the scene around them. The 38th district of the Rukongai was utterly destroyed, to say the least. Seeing that there was nothing else they could do to help, Ichigo picked Yoruichi up bridal-style, and set off towards the first division. Her leg was still cut up pretty well, and wasn't anywhere near the point of being used.

Yoruichi kept her silence for a minute or two, thinking about the green mist that had surrounded Ichigo when he received that amazing burst of speed. It had been faster than his masked Bankai state, that was for sure. She decided to ask him about it.

"Ichigo?", she paused for a moment before continuing, "Do you know what that green mist was around your feet, you know, back just before you cut that arrancar's head off?"

Ichigo had a look of confusion spread across his face, he had no idea what she was talking about. All he remembered was getting mad...and some sort of weird sensation. Maybe that was what Yoruichi was talking about, that weird sensation. It was probably the thing that caused the green mist, after all...he'd have to experiment with it more in his training, if he could get it to show itself again.

Having thought it over, Ichigo turned back to a waiting Yoruichi. "All I remember was feeling a weird sort of sensation, but it definitely felt good, powerful... You think that might have been that mist you were talking about?"

Yoruichi nodded, resolving to figure out what that power might have come from, and how Ichigo could learn to control it.

* * *

Ichigo and Yoruichi entered the meeting room, finding that they were the last ones to arrive. A look around the room said the other teams got off easy, none of them had a scratch on them. Zaraki was wearing a satisfied grin though, but then again, no one can tell what the man was thinking.

The 3rd division pair took their places in line, as Captain-Commander Yamamoto's voice brought everyone's attention back. "Now that everyone is present, report your findings."

It appeared the only other Captain who had found an arrancar, was Zaraki, much to the slightly insane man's enjoyment. Apart from Ichigo and Yoruichi, all the other shinigami had merely found a destroyed Rukongai district.

Yamamoto sighed, before speaking again, "This is grave news, Aizen has indeed found a way to get his arrancar into Soul Society. The sighted arrancar mentioned were easy enough to deal with, but the Hougyoku isn't ready for use yet, come winter, their power will increase in amazing amounts. Judging on the descriptions of the fights, it seems that they are also ranked by number, the best we saw tonight was a 13." The old man stopped there, letting the shinigami digest the information before continuing.

"Obviously we can't just leave the Rukongai districts unguarded, the arrancar cannot get by the walls dividing the districts from us, but those in the Rukongai are defenseless. We must take care of this. For now, I want each division to rotate watching over the districts, week by week, and report any disturbances. We will start with the 13th division, and go down from there. Understood?"

Upon seeing everyone nod, he spoke, "Dismissed!".

* * *

**A/N: **If you think Ichigo is overpowered atm, it depends on who you compare him to. He is overpowered compared to Soul Society, obviously, but I'd say his power level is pretty even with some of the arrancar. Seeing as how thats what I'm gonna be dealing with, I think it works. 


	9. Chapter 8

**A/N: **First thing's first. Sorry bout all the slacking I've been doing over the Winter Break, I'll try to get back on track starting with this chapter. This chapter deals a lot with the things that happened in Chapter 7 too...so you might wanna refresh yourselves, eh?

Also, couldn't resist the whole Zaraki thing...came to me randomly and I couldn't let it go to waste, now could I? It might seem a little stupid, but I added it in anyways.

Longest chapter yet btw, still only about 3,500 words though.

**Summer of Changes**

Chapter 8

Ichigo groaned, and slowly opened his eyes. With another groan, he immediately wished he hadn't. The sun seemed more blinding than usual, and the fact that his body was sore in places he didn't know he had, didn't help in the slightest.

The orange haired Captain forced himself to think back over the last two weeks, his half-awakened brain trying to figure out why his muscles were seemingly on fire. The answer soon came, training, and lots of it. Ever since the Captain's meeting two weeks ago, after the attacks on the districts, he and Yoruichi had been attempting to figure out where the green mist like spirit energy had come from. They had nearly no success, but it did give them an excuse to spend some extra time "washing" in the hot spring.

Ichigo couldn't help but grin at his last thought, as he looked down to the purple haired shinigami he had been thinking of. He was surprised to find golden eyes looking back at him though, he hadn't heard her wake up. Golden eyes that held a look of curiosity.

"What're smiling about Ichigo" She lazily muttered, as she lay her head back on his chest.

Said Captain simply replied "Hot springs".

Yoruichi couldn't help but grin, he knew how to wake her up... Soon though, her eyes widened as she remembered the training from the previous day.

"Remember how I said you should talk to Zangetsu, see if he knows anything about the energy?" The purple haired Vice-Captain asked.

His reply came in the form of a simple "Yeah".

She took this as her sign to continue. "If anyone would know what that stuff was, it'd be him. Hopefully you'll have some idea on how to use it more by the end of the day."

Yoruichi heard him sigh, before he replied. "Yeah, suppose we should get down there and see what he has to say."

* * *

The black clothed figure sighed, he looked over the training grounds he had been materialized in. He slowly turned towards Ichigo and Yoruichi, both of them wearing curious expressions as they awaited his answer.

Zangetsu figured he'd be summoned sooner or later to help out with this new development, though he never thought it'd take so long for them to ask him about it. In truth, he didn't fully know what it was, only bits and pieces. He sighed once more, relishing in the fact that the pair in front of him changed from curious, to impatient and slight annoyed.

He spoke. "I assume the two of you brought me here to ask about the development in Ichigo's power. Right?"

Upon seeing the pair nod, he continued as he closed his eyes. "In truth, I don't fully understand what it is. Nonetheless, I do comprehend it fairly well."

Zangetsu paused for a moment, gathering his thoughts, before continuing. "It is my guess, that since Ichigo's desire to defend Yoruichi is so great, he unconsciously called upon power that he didn't know he had. This much is obvious though, you need to know where it came from and what it was." He stopped for a moment, taking in a breath, before continuing. "Since Ichigo has two different kinds of spirit energy inside of him, he technically has two separate powers, so to speak. These powers being of a hollow, and a shinigami, obviously."

At this point an impatient Ichigo interrupted. "We know old man, we know. Just get on with it would you."

Said "old man" muttered something about "impatient brats" before continuing. "As I was saying, Ichigo has two separate powers at his disposal. Before the mist incident, those two powers were only used separately, right?"

Ichigo's brow furrowed in confusion, "I've used my hollow mask while I've been in my bankai form before though, even shikai. I use the two powers together all the time."

Zangetsu nodded, before continuing, "That is true, you've used the powers together before, but they were still separate. You must have noticed the extreme differences between your shinigami spirit energy and hollow spirit energy, right?"

The orange haired shinigami responded, "Yeah, but I don't really pay attention to it much. I feel a big difference when I use one or the other though, if that's what you mean"

The "sword" continued with a smile on his face, Ichigo might catch on a little faster than he had expected. "The two spirit energies are extremely different, your right. Did you notice anything different when your green spirit energy showed itself though?"

Ichigo thought back to the fight, attempting to remember any significant differences in spirit energies. He responded after a fews seconds, talking slowly. "I remembered feeling something that I can only describe as a feeling of power. Like I could do anything..." The Captain trailed off, confused about this new spirit energy.

Zangetsu nodded, "And what, Ichigo, do you think that means? Your hollow's spirit energy is dark and evil-like, your shinigami's spirit energy is pure and good. This new spirit energy, merely gave you a feeling of power."

Said orange haired shinigami's eyes widened. "Wait...I've only used my two spirit energies together, not as one before... Are you saying the green energy was a combination of my hollow and shinigami powers?"

Smiling, the old man continued. "That's exactly what I think. However, that's all I know at the moment. I'd suggest attempting to channel both your hollow and shinigami energy through my sword form, just like you would for bankai, and see what happens from there. I do not know what might come from this, you'll have to find out for yourself."

Ichigo nodded, "Thanks old man, one thing though. I've never consciously used my hollow spirit energy before...right?"

Zangetsu couldn't help but chuckle before continuing. "How you think you can call upon your hollow mask? You can call upon your hollow spirit energy whenever you want, all you need to do now, is redirect it." The man paused, and took a deep breath before continuing. "This will not be easy in any way Ichigo. Power like that is usually never easy to obtain. However, if you hope to stand a chance against an Espada, much less Aizen, I suggest you learn how to control this new spirit energy as soon as possible. You'll have to go back to the source of your hollow power, find it, and redirect it; you must also force your shinigami spirit energy into your sword at the same time."

Ichigo looked up with a glint of determination in eyes. "I know it'll be hard, but it'll be worth it too. That power felt nothing short of amazing. Thanks Zangetsu, I think Yoruichi and I can take over from here."

The materialized form of cleaver Zanpakutou nodded, and spoke once more before fading out of existence. "Good luck, Ichigo."

* * *

Ichigo sighed, and opened his eyes to glare at whatever rock he felt like. He heard a not-so-quiet giggle from behind him and promptly threw himself down onto his back from his sitting position.

Yoruichi's giggle soon became an all out laugh. This only made Ichigo more frustrated, but Yoruichi couldn't help it. She was so caught up in how childish Ichigo had looked, and laughing herself silly over it, that the purple haired Vice-Captain didn't notice Ichigo shunpo behind her.

Ichigo smirked as he wrapped a hand around her waist, using the other one to tickle her mercilessly.

His Vice-Captain barely had time to gasp in surprise before she was forced into laughing once again. She soon realized what was going on, and leaned forward to try and get away from him, nearly lying down on her stomach. This, of course, pulled Ichigo forward too. He was only too happy to follow.

The orange haired shinigami supported himself with his knees as he stopped tickling her. He was grinning widely as he sat back, pulling Yoruichi , who was still gasping for breath, onto his lap, her back into his chest.

Yoruichi recovered shortly after Ichigo had started planting kisses across the back and sides of her neck. She sighed, and half-heartedly glared at him from over her shoulder. Upon seeing him smile though, she couldn't help but smile too; she then planted a loving kiss on his lips before leaning back into his chest with another sigh, her head rested on his shoulder.

Ichigo relaxed back against a nearby rock, tightening his hold around Yoruichi's waist. He missed these moments, the two of them hadn't spent a lot of time doing things like this over the past weeks. So he learned to enjoy these moments while they lasted.

Ichigo broke the peaceful silence in a soft voice. "I love you."

It was simple, yet it made Yoruichi happier than she could have ever imagined. She smiled, before whispering "I love you too, Ichigo."

The two of them sat in silence after that, sharing a kiss every once in a while, both lost in thought. After a few minutes, Yoruichi spoke up, remembering what had started all this in the first place.

"What were you so frustrated about anyway?"

"I don't have any idea on how to find the source of my hollow power, and sitting on that damn rock wasn't helping anything." Ichigo replied, a slight pout in his voice.

Yoruichi couldn't help but smile again, she fell silent soon after though, thinking over what might help him. She turned her head sideways, into Ichigo's neck, as she thought over all the events that had taken place since she meant him in her cat form.

Minutes passed in silence, before Yoruichi furrowed her brow in thought. "Ichigo, how did you overcome your hollow the first time? Back before you knew Zangetsu's name."

"I had to go to my spirit realm and talk to Zangetsu, something with spirit ribbons too, and how shinigami's were red and such. Why?"

Yoruichi didn't respond for awhile though, when she did, it was in the form of another question. "Do you think your combined spirit energy would have a different colored spirit ribbon as well?"

Ichigo's eyes widened. "Yeah, it'd make sense. So you think all I'd have to do is find that ribbon inside of me, and I'll get that power."

"Not exactly, Zangetsu said you need to combine your shinigami and hollow powers in order to get that power, he never said it was there originally, remember? I think you need to find your hollow's ribbon inside you, and use that to find its source."

Ichigo's face brightened considerably, Yoruichi would never fail to amaze him. Smiling widely he pulled her into a deep, passionate kiss that left both of them gasping for breath.

"Your amazing, you know that right? I'll have to repay you for that help later...would've taken me forever to think of that"

Yoruichi couldn't help but smile as she put he head back on his shoulder, she resolved to make sure they had more moments to themselves like this...that, and to make sure he kept his promise.

Any further thoughts or actions were cut off though, as a hell butterfly appeared in front of the two lovers. Captain-Commander Yamamoto's voice rang out in the training room.

"All Captains and Vice-Captains report to the first division immediately."

Ichigo and Yoruichi shared a look at the shortness of the message, before shaking their thoughts off and heading towards the meeting.

* * *

Captain-Commander Yamamoto surveyed the assembled shinigami for a moment, upon concluding that everyone was present, he addressed them.

"There has been another attack, this time on the 67th district of the Rukongai. The 11th division just started their patrol today, so Captain Zaraki was the first to be informed." Ichigo looked over at Zaraki, just now noticing that he looked worse for wear, to say the least. Deep cuts littered his body, along with many bruises.

Yamamoto's voice brought Ichigo out of his thoughts. "He immediately set out to deal with the arrancar, and ended up killing him. However, it appears the arrancar are growing stronger, as Zaraki barely managed to beat his opponent."

At this point, Renji's voice could be heard muttering from his place beside Captain Kuchiki. "Maybe if he actually knew the name of his Zanpakutou..."

It appeared Renji didn't speak quietly enough though, as Zaraki immediately responded. "I've tried learning its damn name more times than I can count, but this thing must not know its own name. See, every time I try asking for it, all it does is insult me."

Ichigo fought down a snort at this point, while Yoruichi futilely tried to stop her shoulders from shaking. The Zanpakutou must be as stubborn as Zarak himself. Apparently oblivious to the humor in what he had said, Zaraki continued. "The damn Zanpakutou always says ahondara, then it goes quiet, nothing else."

Upon hearing this. nearly all of the shinigami present began shaking in laughter, Zaraki still seemed oblivious to it though. Ichigo turned his laugh into a hacking cough, calming himself down before he spoke. "Zaraki. Is that the only thing it ever says when you ask its name?"

By now, most all the Captains and Vice-Captains present had large grins plastered on their faces, despite how serious the meeting was supposed to be. It had long been anticipated when Zaraki would actually learn the name of his Zanpakutou, but this was better than anything they had expected. Zaraki's ignorance just made it harder not to laugh...

Zaraki looked away in a thought for a moment, before looked back to Ichigo and nodding, a slight frown on his face. "Yeah, that's all its said to me".

That did it, nearly all the shinigami present burst out laughing. Yoruichi was using Ichigo for support, even Soi Fon and Kuchiki cracked small smiles.

Yamamoto brought his staff down upon on the floor to bring order back to the meeting, his face expressionless as ever. "Enough! Captain Zaraki can deal with his problems later, I have said what I wanted to say. Dismissed!"

Ichigo shared a somewhat nervous glance with Yoruichi, before the two of them quickly headed back to their cabin.

* * *

Ichigo and Yoruichi finally arrived home in the late evening. Neither had realized how much time had passed in the training room or during the meeting, but after they had a late dinner, they agreed to simply go to bed early.

Ichigo followed behind Yoruichi, walking up the stairs to their room. His eyes were glued to her hips and he couldn't help but remember his promise, it seemed he'd only made it minutes ago. Ichigo licked his lips, he decided to pay her back sooner than she thought...

They entered their room, Ichigo still trailing behind his Vice-Captain. The orange haired shinigami shut the door, and swiftly picking up Yoruichi in his arms, earning a startled yelp from her as he carried her to the bed.

He gently tossed her onto the bed, and immediately leaned over her on hands and knees. His lips found the side of her neck, biting and teasing softly, while her hands instinctively entangled themselves in his hair. He worked his way up her neck, along her jawline, to her lips; the little moans she was making just encouraged him more. He slide his tongue into her mouth while his hands parted the folds of her shinigami uniform, soon ending with the top half of it coming off all together.

Ichigo broke contact with her lips, as he moved his down to newly exposed skin. He took her left breast in his hand and kneaded it, while his mouth covered her right nipple. Using his tongue to circle the hardened flesh, and teeth to lightly bite at it, he received louder moans from the purple haired shinigami under him. He soon switched his administrations, mouth moving to where his hand had been, hand to where his mouth had been, and pleasured his love more.

Yoruichi tightened her fingers in his hair as another soft moan escaped her, if he only knew the things he could do to her... She let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding in as more pleasure swept over her, and flipped their bodies over. She sat back on his waist, straddling him, as she quickly removed the upper portion on his Captain's uniform. She then moved her lips to his abs, biting and licking the defined skin lightly, she soon after began to slowly work her way up his body, relishing in the small groans and light moans he made. His pleasure was confirmed to her, as she felt a pressure on her thigh.

Ichigo's mind didn't seem to want to work at that moment. The feeling of her lips all over him, along with her bare flesh rubbing against his, made it very hard to form a coherent thought. He didn't know how much longer he could wait though. So, as her lips molded together with his and tongues meant, he flipped her over onto her back. He quickly removed all but one piece of her clothing, and looked down at her. Her eyes were glazed over in lust and love, the gold in them adopting a much darker shade. Her breathing was slightly labored, the rise and fall of her chest barely noticeable. He looked down, both her legs were spread out around him, welcoming him, while the only thing keeping him from seeing her completely, was a piece of lacy black cloth.

He brought his lips down to her inner thigh and nipped the flesh there softly, grinning at her quick intake of air. He moved up her body, until he was face to face with her, and placed his lips over hers. One of his hands placed itself on the cloth between her legs, and pressed down onto her already moist center. Her moan was lost in his mouth as she lifted her hips up, but Ichigo pulled his hand away, she could almost see his smirk against her lips.

Yoruichi flipped them over once again, and removed the clothes from Ichigo's lower half, along with what remained on her. She didn't feel like getting teased much, so she'd simply have take things into her own hands.

She held him down and turned around on top of him, still straddling him, merely facing the opposite direction. She lowered her moist center to his mouth, and she brought her mouth to his hardened member. Yoruichi engulfed him in her mouth, using her tongue to please him further as she felt his tongue begin exploring her. She moaned as she felt him start using a finger alongside his tongue to pleasure her further, and began pumping him slowly.

The two continued like this as they lost themselves in passion. It wasn't until Ichigo started to rub the hardened nub near his mouth that Yoruichi felt her release, while she moaned loudly, the vibrations causing Ichigo to release himself into her mouth as well. Both of them lay like this, catching their breath, while Yoruichi got Ichigo awake once again.

Ichigo lifted Yoruichi's small, soft body off of himself, and laid her on her chest next to him. He then got back onto his knees behind her, and positioned himself at her entrance. The Captain put his hands on her hips, and brought her onto her hands and knees as well, before easily sliding inside. Yoruichi moaned out his name at the feeling as he kept an even pace. After many more moans, Yoruichi started rocking her hips back against him in time with his increasing pace. Not much later, the two had lost themselves completely in pleasure, both nearing release.

"Ichigo" Yoruichi gasped out, as she felt herself begin to go over the edge. Ichigo made one final thrust, pulling her hips back against him, before they both released themselves, moaning each other's names as they fell onto their sides.

Ichigo pulled Yoruichi close against him, his arms around her waist, while hers settled themselves on top of his. He kissed the back of her neck, and the two exchanged a whispered "I love you" before falling into a peaceful sleep.

* * *

**A/N: **Lemon was a spur of the moment thing, but I know all you perverts don't mind, eh? ...Call me a hypocrite later, I don't care. 


	10. Chapter 9

**A/N: **Sorry bout the wait, and I know it must get old hearing that...but yah. I think this chapter might make up for it.

**Summer of Changes**

Chapter 9

Ichigo and Yoruichi sprinted off towards the first division. It had been weeks since they talked to Zangetsu about Ichigo's power. The orange haired Captain had made little to no progress, he just couldn't seem to find the ribbon signifying his hollow power inside of him. This frustrated both of them, but they couldn't seem to get a break, no matter how much work they did.

The two had been in sour moods all week, and what had happened earlier just made it worse. They awoke, quite naked, to Yamamoto's voice, rambling on about a meeting...again. Neither had any idea what was going on now, but the old man's voice did seem a little more urgent.

Ichigo and Yoruichi entered the Captain's meeting room to find that they were the last to arrive. All of the other shinigami present had worried looks plastered on their faces, while Yamamoto looked older than he usually did. They quickly took their place in line, and turned their attention to the Captain Commander.

Said shinigami immediately began speaking. "Aizen is moving much faster than we had planned before. He has somehow decreased the amount of time the hougyoku has until it is fully useable. This means that the squad on patrol duty will increase the amount of shinigami they send, Aizen will-"

The old man never got to finish what he started to say though, because the copy of the security board in the meeting room went crazy. Over half the districts were seemingly under attack.

Yamamoto's eyes widening, before he regained control of himself and addressed the startled shinigami in front of him.

"All Captains and Vice-Captains, return to your division and take as many members of it as you see fit to defend the Rukongai. Each squad will take the districts nearest to it, further orders will be issued after a proper analysis of the problem. Now go!"

Ichigo and Yoruichi took off towards their division, reaching it within a minute, and threw open the door to the main lobby. The secretary looked up, startled.

Ichigo addressed her immediately. "Call teams 1, 3, 6, 7, 8, and 14 here now!"

The secretary did just that.

* * *

The Captain and Vice-Captain pair watched as the people they requested gathered. Each team was made up of about 5-6 members, and division two, being a large division, had about 100 teams. These teams were ranked accorded to skill level, one being the highest, while 100 was the lowest. Ichigo had called the best teams that were currently available...he only hoped it was enough.

Nearly a minute after they had entered the division, all the shinigami were assembled. Ichigo spoke quickly.

"Follow me, I'll explain on the way." The members of the teams saluted respectfully and followed Ichigo towards the attacks.

"The Rukongai has come under attack, and we've been ordered to secure the districts nearest to ours. So, we'll be taking 43-49. Team one will handle 43, three will go to 44, six to 45, and so on; Yoruichi and I will take care of 49. If you are in need of assistance, use your hell butterflies. Am I understood?"

A solid "Yes sir!" came from all the teams assembled, and the group split up.

* * *

Ichigo and Yoruichi arrived at the 49th district to see that nearly everything looked normal. Upon closer inspection though, they saw smoke in a far corner of the district. The pair shared a look, and headed towards what seemed to be the problem.

As the two of them neared the area, they were suddenly forced to jump apart by what seemed to be a cero at a glance. Then, before either of them could think, they saw a flash head towards Yoruichi. She barely had time to pull out her katana before the blade of a blue haired man collided with it.

He jumped back with a snort, putting distance between the three of them. This also gave Ichigo and Yoruichi a chance to see the jaw like fragment of a hollow mask, as well as the number six on his lower back.

Ichigo's eyes widened...that number was low, really low. He knew from then on that this was going to be tough.

His thoughts were interrupted by the arrancar speaking though. "Name's Gimmjow, sixth Espada. That's all you need to know, since you'll be dying momentarily...but be happy, you survived longer than any other fool here..." He laughed coldly.

Grimmjow's opponents nodded to each other, before both taking off towards the arrancar at the same time, Ichigo transforming into his Bankai state and Yoruichi using her flashcry as they did.

Grimmjow's brow furrowed as they neared him at speeds he never expected of them, he had thought they'd be easy, even if they were a Captain and Vice-Captain...but then again, he was always up for a challenge. He smirked.

The blue haired man quickly fired off a cero at Ichigo, causing him to divert his path momentarily. That moment was all Grimmjow needed though, as he flashed behind Yoruichi, and swung out sideways with his blade. The arrancar was slightly surprised to see her block it, and even more surprised when he found out Ichigo had reached him already. He quickly dodged what would have been a decapitating blow, before forming another quick cero at Ichigo's stomach.

The Captain pushed himself to the side in time to avoid most of the damage, as Yoruichi went after Grimmjow. Said arrancar easily blocked her blows, though he had to admit, the pair was faster than most shinigami he had seen before. This might actually be a challenge, since his power was restricted to the sealed form...but they didn't need to know that, did they?

Smirking, he quickly reached out to grab Yoruichi's arm and throw her into an on-coming Ichigo. The Captain caught her, and started to placed her on the ground. Ichigo sensed something though, and looked up. His eyes widened as he saw a cero flying at the two of them, he quickly threw Yoruichi out of the way, before putting his arms out in front of him in a defensive position. He took the blow at full force, and promptly flew back through a building.

Grimmjow used this distraction to catch Yoruichi off guard. He appeared behind her, and attempted to make a sideways cut across her back. The arrancar frowned though, as she managed to move forward enough so that the cut was shallow, but still a little debilitating. The damage was done though.

In the seconds it took Ichigo to recover, Grimmjow began to wear Yoruichi down. One shallow cut across her back caused several other injuries to appear on her arms and torso as well. She was out matched and she knew it. Their fight was frozen though, as they both felt spirit energy burst out from where Ichigo was. It felt like pure evil.

Before Grimmjow could even blink, the orange haired Captain was in front of him, about to slice off his head. He narrowly avoided the blow, barely able to spare a thought at the weird mask on his face, before another slice missed his arm by a hair.

The arrancar dodged and parried for several seconds, being all he could do at the moment, before an unexpected kick to the chest sent him flying backwards. Grimmjow faintly heard the words "Tensa Zangetsu" from behind him, and turned to find himself face to face with a mass of dark energy, it cut him diagonally across the chest, inflicting a deep wound. In the shock of the attack, he was unable to stop the Captain from kicking him to a roof of a building, where he came to a stop.

Ichigo cut off his hollow powers, since it appeared Grimmjow wasn't going anywhere anytime soon, and turned to Yoruichi. He soon found that her injuries were minor, just random cuts that could be healed with basic first aid...she was faster than he gave her credit for. The orange haired Captain then sent out a hell butterfly to his teams, asking them for their status.

The shinigami sighed, it already seemed like it had been a long day, and it was only just after noon...

A groan from a nearby building brought his attention back to the beaten arrancar though.

The blue haired man was struggling to sit up, his mind racing. _"Shit! Aizen-sama said to only release our swords if it's really needed. That bastard's on a level only my released form can take on too... If I don't do anything, then they'll probably take me in to question me and crap, torture me. No way in hell am I gonna let that happen to me...that brat'll pay for this, screw restrictions!"_

With that thought, Grimmjow uttered "Grind, Pantera."

* * *

Ichigo started walking towards Grimmjow, who seemed to be in his own little world. The Captain was ready to call it a day, using his hollow powers always took a lot out of him, after all. As he neared the downed arrancar, he could hear him muttering under his breath. Ichigo sighed again, and started to speak.

"Hey, Grimm-"

He stopped, his eyes widening. Before him, he saw the wound on the arrancar's chest close up completely, and his clothes become form fitting. His hands and feet transformed into cat-like paws, sharp claws adorning the ends of them. His hair turned into what looked like a long tail, and the jaw piece of his face turned into a crown like object.

All-in-all, it was startling for this to happen in front of Ichigo. It was even more startling for the man to disappear in front of his eyes, only to reappear behind him. Ichigo started to turn around, but winced noticeably as he did...the Captain looked down in horror to find a large gash on his chest.

"How..."

Ichigo was cut off again, this time, a large gash opened on his shoulder.

He stared in shock at the wound...this was bad. He couldn't even hope to keep up with the arrancar at this level. His thoughts were cut off though, by another cut appearing on his chest. The orange haired shinigami staggered backwards.

Ichigo could faintly hear Yoruichi's cries for him to run in the background, before another gash appeared on his leg. This was unbelievable. How could this arrancar who was on the verge of death suddenly attain such speed, he was so fast, that Ichigo couldn't track him in his Bankai form. He didn't have enough energy to use his mask either, this was bad.

His thoughts were once more interrupted as another gash appeared on his unscathed shoulder, shortly after, the arrancar spoke.

"Here I thought this was actually gonna be a challenge. Guess I was wrong. That damn mask may have caught me off guard before, but it looks like you can't even use it again. Your done for, Captain."

Ichigo lifted his eyes to see the arrancar move again, slowly tracking him. He could almost see the final blow coming, like it was in slow motion. As the man drew closer, Ichigo willed his body to move...but there was no response. It seemed he was going to die here today, and there was nothing he could do about. He couldn't see any way he could beat his opponent now, so what was the point in trying anyway.

Grimmjow was almost to him now...Ichigo made one last feeble attempt to move, only to get the same unresponsive result. Desperation overtook him, the arrancar was obviously out of his league...if this was what Aizen could do before the Hougyoku before it was ready, then what could he do with it at full power?

It seemed hopeless. He was going to die, and he knew it.

"_Ichigo!"_

Yoruichi's voice snapped him out of his trance, as he quickly looked to her. She seemed to be moving in slow motion as well, but the tears in her eyes and the emotion in her voice was still as clear as day.

There is a reason for him to live. There is a reason for him to try. He must win. He will win!

Ichigo's eyes glowed a bright shade of green as he looked back in determination towards the arrancar who was now mere feet from him.

He felt power surge through his veins once more, a feeling of strength overwhelmed his senses. Only now did he realize that green spirit energy had been crackling lightly in his hands. He quickly focused all the spirit energy he had left into Zangetsu, the power he felt increasing with every second. A single word came to mind throughout all this, like it was instinct.

"_Roukai" _(1)

* * *

Soi Fon looked up from her poisition in the 50th district of the Rukongai, sensing a massive amount of spirit energy in the direction of the 49th. She held her gaze over the small group of buildings, before slowly turning back to what she was doing...cleaning up. It appeared almost all the attacks had been fakes, merely set up to test them...she hated her job sometimes.

Another wave of spirit energy passed over her, this one shocking her greatly. She stared, slightly wide eyed, back at the 49th district. Out of the corner of her eye, she could make out the Captain-Commander, along with the over Captains and Vice-Captains heading towards the district that held her attention. They stopped before her, and the old man addressed her.

"Almost all of the other attacks were fakes as well, the regular division members are cleaning up currently. I felt a wave of spiritual energy from division two's districts though, since I never got a response from them, I came to investigate. The other Captains joined me as well, curious as to what it could-"

He was cut off though, as a pillar of green spirit energy seemed to come down from the sky, onto a single spot in the 49th district of the Rukongai. The shinigami present stared at it in confusion and slight awe for a moment, before recovering, and hurrying over.

* * *

Yoruichi was never easily surprised. When Ichigo had tried, numerous times, to sneak up on her, she almost always caught him. So, when she was staring wide eyed at her Captain, something must be surprising.

Ichigo was currently in a pillar of green spirit energy, Zangetsu in its' Bankai form pointed straight above him, his hollow mask reforming on his face, his legs in a wide stance to support him. Aside from the pillar of energy, this would seem normal...but the fact that both Zangetsu and his hollow mask began to deteriorate moments later, was nothing short of insane.

This was the sight that the rest of the Captains and Vice-Captains happened upon when arriving at the 49th district.

Most just stared in awe, never having seen something like it before. Others' faces were impossible to read, while one face had a blood lust grin plastered all over it. Confusion and awe clearly dominated the thoughts of the shinigami present.

Ichigo let out a yell, almost like a battle cry, as his Zanpakutou finished dissolving, along with his mask, into the green energy.

This caused the by-standers' interest to increase even more, their faces showing their confusion clearly, while a slightly worried look formed on the face of the arrancar. He subtly called for a little reinforcement, since he wasn't sure he could handle what might happen.

The green pillar soon got too bright for anyone to keep their eyes open, the blinding light held for several seconds, before slowly disappearing.

Most shinigami there had no idea what this might be, so their stares were intent on the place Ichigo had just been. Waiting to find out what had happened to the newest Captain. Captain Kuchiki could even be seen slightly interested, while the stone cold face of Soi Fon stared shamelessly.

A pulse of the same spirit energy slowly cleared away the green mist covering the figure in the middle, what the shinigami present saw, drew gasps from all their throats. Never before had they seen something like it.

**(A/N: **was about to end it here...but I found time to write, luckily)

Ichigo's appearance had changed drastically, to say the least. His legs were wrapped in black bandages, up to just under his kneeHis standard shinigami pants disappeared into the cloth around his lower leg at around knee level, while a few inches hung loose over the bandages, giving him a slightly baggy look. Thin, white colored hollow bones acted as armor, covering the front part of his bandaged legs, also ending just under his knees.

His torso only had half the shinigami outfit it had seconds ago, his right side remaining completely uncovered. The sleeve on his left arm was also tucked into black bandages that ended just below his elbow, thin hollow bones also covering the underside of the bandaged part of his arm. (Think of how his torso looked when he saved Rukia, a lot like that, I just added in bandages/hollow bones)

His right arm held the most interest of the entirety of his body though. It had a massive gauntlet-like object that almost reached his elbow, it had to be nearly a foot wide, and seemingly made completely of hollow bone, since it matched the white color of the other hollow bones on his body. The kanji for the 2nd division was marked on the side of the gauntlet.

Zangetsu, though, was another story completely. It seemed to have split into two swords. One being almost identical to his Bankai form, the hilt was just made of hollow bone.

The other sword was nothing short of amazing though. It was completely black but for the hilt, which was also made of hollow bone, probably to support its' massive size. The double bladed zanpakutou had to be atleast seven feet in length, nearly two feet in width. The kanji for hollow and shinigami marked in white onto one side each.

Ichigo turned his stare to Grimmjaw, and the ten lower ranked arrancar that had come to back him up. The Captain lifted the massive blade with one hand, pointing it directly at his group of enemies, before flashing out of existance.

* * *

**A/N: **I think I'll leave it at that, lemme know how I did...that form I described in this chapter was actually sorta the starting idea for this entire story.

**1** – I'm not sure how they figured out the Bankai/Shikai stuff, so, I came up with a word that sounded good together with kai, and put em together. If I'm wrong in the way I'm doing this, tell me would yah.


End file.
